Sen. Chuck Grassley made the following statement regarding the announcement today by Australia of its new policy to permit the importation of U.S.-processed pork, including ham and bacon, as well as unprocessed pork for processing.
"I'm very pleased with this science-based decision. Due to alleged sanitary problems, Australia previously prohibited the importation of U.S. pork products. After further research, Australia decided to give the green light today to processed U.S. pork and pork for processing. With today's announcement, Iowa producers will now be able to compete with their counterparts from Australia, Canada, Denmark, and New Zealand in the Australian market. On two occasions, I expressed my concerns to Australia's Ambassador to the United States that Australia base its determination upon science, and I commend Australian quarantine officials for doing just that."