US Might Restrict Livestock Imports From Mexico Over Screwworm Concerns: USDA

‘We are now at a critical inflection point in our shared campaign against this pest, and I am very concerned about our collaboration,’ the secretary said.

A drone view shows livestock in pens before being exported to the U.S. through the Jeronimo-Santa Teresa border crossing, as the U.S. allowed Mexican cattle imports to resume after lifting a temporary suspension due to the detection of the New World screwworm, at the Chihuahua Regional Livestock Union facility, outside Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Feb. 10, 2025. Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on April 27 that it will restrict livestock imports from Mexico if it does not ramp up its fight against a threatening pest known as New World screwworm.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins sent a letter on April 26 to Mexican Secretary of Agriculture Julio Antonio Berdegué Sacristán, warning that the United States would “restrict the importation of animal commodities,” including live cattle, bison, and equine, if the issues are not resolved by April 30.