The U.S. government announced Monday the gradual opening of cattle, bison and equine imports from Mexico.
As of May 11, the U.S. government suspended imports due to findings of screwworm in southern Mexico.
In a press release, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the risk-based reopening of ports for cattle, bison and equine from Mexico effective July 7, 2025.
In the first quarter of 2025, U.S. imports of these animals from Mexico were $145 million, a 56.3% year-over-year drop.
Cattle, bison and equine imports
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is poised to begin a reopening of southern ports, starting with Douglas, Arizona.
According to USDA, progress has been made in several critical areas since the May 11 closure of the ports, including resolving issues with conducting flights into Mexico.
These flights have allowed the USDA team to consistently conduct sterile New World Screwworm (NWWB) fly dispersal seven days a week and the dispersal of more than 100 million flies each week.
Also, USDA sent five teams of APHIS personnel to visit/observe and better understand the GBN response in Mexico, providing an opportunity to share feedback.
“We have not observed a noticeable increase in reported cases of NSG in Mexico, nor any northward movement of NSG in the past eight weeks,” USDA said.
Timeline
While the port of Douglas, Arizona, presents the least risk, considering Sonora’s geography and the long history of effective collaboration between APHIS and Sonora on animal health issues, USDA intends to reopen additional ports in New Mexico and, if proven safe to do so, Texas, in the coming weeks.
Port reopening schedule:
- Douglas, AZ: July 7.
- Columbus, NM: July 14.
- Santa Teresa, NM: July 21.
- Del Rio, TX: August 18.
- Laredo, TX: September 15.
The Mexican livestock sector faces new trade barriers. On November 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture restricted live cattle imports from Mexico. The cause was sanitary: the presence of New World screwworm was detected in the state of Chiapas.
Although the trade flow resumed on February 1, 2025, it did so under a stricter protocol. Even so, the impact was evident. By mid-March, only 68% of the weekly volume recorded a year earlier had been recovered.