RUSSIAN VET SERVICE REQUESTS

UNCLAS MOSCOW 003525 SENSITIVE SIPDIS USDA FAS FOR OCRA/KUYPERS; OSTA/HAMILTON, BEAN; ONA/SALLYARDS, MURPHY PASS FSIS/JONES, DUTROW PASS APHIS/MITCHELL STATE FOR EUR/RUS, EB/ATP/SINGER STATE PASS USTR FOR CHATTIN BRUSSELS PASS APHIS/FERNANDEZ VIENNA PASS APHIS/TANAKA GENEVA FOR USTR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR ETRD TBIO WTO RS SUBJECT: RUSSIAN VET SERVICE REQUESTS CONSULTATIONS WITH USDA REF: A) HANSEN/DUTROW EMAIL 12/4/08, B) MOSCOW 3181, C) MOSCOW 2949 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Russian Chief Veterinary Officer Nikolay Vlasov has requested, via official letter, consultations with USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in Moscow before December 20, 2008 to discuss Russian concerns with the quality and safety of U.S. meat and poultry shipments to Russia. In addition, Russian Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Service (VPSS) reps would like to discuss issues with the interpretation of the agriculture-related November 2006 bilateral agreements, including the side letter on inspections that granted FSIS the authority to independently certify that U.S. meat and poultry plants meet Russian requirements and are eligible for export. An original scanned copy and courtesy translation of the letter were sent to FSIS and FAS (REF A). An informal embassy translation of the letter follows. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) BEGIN TEXT: December 4, 2008 FS-NV-2/12318 Assistant Administrator Office of International Affairs USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Dr. Ronald K. Jones The Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Service (VPSS) extends its warm regards to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). In response to your letter November 10, 2008, I inform you of the following: VPSS supports FSIS' point of view regarding the importance of trade of meat and fresh meat products between the Russian Federation and the United States and the necessity to continue the dialogue on actual issues in the realm of veterinary surveillance. VPSS has concerns about the validity of FSIS' guarantees that U.S. meat producing establishments are compliant with Russian veterinary requirements and norms. We base these concerns on the results of recent joint audit of poultry and pork establishments and also on the results of monitoring tests for prohibited and harmful residues. The relevant information has repeatedly been sent to FSIS. According to international standards, the veterinary services of the importing country has the right to be sure that the export certificates are issued with the appropriate level of safety guarantees and the official veterinarians who issue the veterinary certificates should know everything about the products subject to certification. In this connection, VPSS collected some data that cause much concern. For instance, in your letter of November 10, 2008, information was presented that FSIS specialists do not require that Russian veterinary requirements and norms are met. Apart from causing us to doubt the competency of FSIS specialists, it results in detention of U.S. animal-origin products by federal control agencies of the Russian Federation. According to international veterinary norms, an importing country has the right to require guarantees that the information being provided by the veterinary services of the exporting country are impartial, reliable and precise. Therefore, the general meaning of basic statements in export certificates and the checklists of audited establishments that have been negotiated between Russia and the United States do not prevent the procedure of inspection of the relevant entities (manufacturers of animal-origin products, farms/suppliers of animals for slaughter, and the initial documents at the plants and farms). It is the only way to evaluate the overall level of animal health control, ability to trace back to the origin of meat products, overall capabilities of laboratory tests, quality of treatment of animals, control of the administration of veterinary medicines, and the implementation of other important aspects of the chain which are critical in maintaining trust between our services. The majority of issues that were raised in your letter of November 10, 2008 would be solved this way. The maximum residue levels of prohibited and harmful substances in products of animal origin are stipulated in the actual legislation of the Russian Federation for products of Russian and foreign suppliers. Products of animal origin that arrive to our ports that do not comply with those requirements are not allowed in the market. Therefore, we completely follow the equivalency principle regarding imported goods. In spite of affirmations by FSIS representatives that U.S. meat-processing establishments eligible for the export of products to the Russian Federation are certified as meetiBc .R.TcXQQce with the Russian norms. Therefore, we cannot be sure that veterinary products imported from the United States to the Russian Federation comply with the Russian norms and regulations even if we receive FSIS guarantees. We do not understand what specific documents/criteria are used as a basis for FSIS officials to sign veterinary certificates on meat and meat products exported from the United States to the Russian Federation guaranteeing the complete implementation of Russian veterinary-sanitary requirements and norms. In this connection, we consider it is necessary to discuss the problems mentioned above during a face-to-face meeting. In our letters FS-NV-2/9932 of October 1, 2008 and FS-AS-2/10864 of October 24, 2008, we informed FSIS that VPSS is ready to conduct consultations in Moscow after November 20, 2008. Unfortunately, we have not received proposals from the American side regarding the matter. At the same time, VPSS thanks FSIS for the invitation to visit Washington on December 4-5, 2008, as was stated in your letter of November 25, 2008, to discuss issues of concern with the bilateral agreements that were signed in Hanoi on November 16, 2006, including issues on audits of meat-processing establishments. However, we plan such meetings in advance, making it impossible to conduct them this year after our business trips to Argentina, Chili, and Brazil. Therefore, we propose that an FSIS delegation come to Moscow anytime before December 20, 2008. Dr. Jones, let me assure you of my highest esteem. Deputy Head N.A. Vlasov END TEXT. ¶3. (SBU) Post strongly encourages FSIS to send a team to Moscow for consultations with VPSS officials before December 20. VPSS has already unilaterally backed out of the bilateral agreement on inspection that gave FSIS the authority to independently certify that U.S. meat and poultry plants meet Russian requirements and are eligible to export to Russia (REF B). VPSS has also, on numerous occasions, questioned FSIS' competency to guarantee that U.S. meat and poultry shipments to Russia are safe and wholesome (REF C). Progress on resolving the numerous sanitary and phyto-sanitary issues raised by VPSS are not likely to be resolved through further exchanges of letters, and, at this juncture, are better addressed through face- to-face meetings. BEYRLE