IMPORT RULES FOR FMD CONTAMINATED BEEF

Under the new WTO trading rules the United States is obligated to revise its beef import policy and has proposed barriers based on classifying nations according to livestock health risks. This research develops a model which captures the impact of various degrees of FMD risk from imports on setting import barriers. The results show that nations classified as high risk for FMD continue to face prohibitive barriers. As outbreak risk falls so does the level of the barrier levied against that exporter. The barrier levels are also sensitive to the expected social losses as influenced by alternative control strategies.