VZCZCXRO2442
RR RUEHAG RUEHBZ RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHGI RUEHHM RUEHMR RUEHPA
RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHSL
DE RUEHHI #0632/01 1881104
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071104Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9862
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 5994
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1272
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUCNWTO/WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION COLLECTIVE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000632 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO USTR RON KIRK 
STATE PASS TO USTR (WEISEL, BISBEE, O'CONNOR) 
USDA FOR SECRETARY VILSACK 
USDA FOR US MILLER 
USDA PASS TO FAS (OA, OSTA, ONA, OCRA, OFSO) 
USDA PASS TO APHIS 
USDA PASS TO FSIS 
HHS/OSSI/DSI PASS TO AND OGHA (JKULIKOWSKI/ACUMMINGS) and FDA 
(MLVALDEZ/RCAMPBELL/MECKEL) 
TREASURY FOR OASIA 
USAID FOR ASIA (MELLIS, DSHARMA, CJENNINGS) AND GH (GSTEELE, 
DCARROLL) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD WTRO TBIO EAGR PINR SOCI USTR EAID VM
 
SUBJECT: LETTER FROM VIETNAM'S MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL 
DEVELOPMENT TO USDA SECRETARY VILSACK 
 
HANOI 00000632  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶1.  (U) On July 06, 2009, Embassy Hanoi received a letter from 
Minister Cao Duc Phat of Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural 
Development regarding Vietnam's decision on the import of U.S. beef 
from cattle older than 30 months.  In the letter, Minister Phat gave 
approval for import of U.S. beef from cattle older than 30-months, 
subject to certain conditions.  Minister Phat authorized Vietnam's 
Department of Animal Health (DAH) to work with USDA's Animal Plant 
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to fulfill these conditions. 
 
¶2. (U) APHIS was erroneously identified as the USDA agency with 
jurisdiction over the commercial supply of meat instead of the Food 
Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).  Embassy Hanoi has notified 
Vietnam's Department of Animal Health of the error.  The conditions 
for the import of U.S. beef from cattle older than 30 months 
outlined on the APHIS certificate accompanying Minister Phat's 
letter are listed in paragraph 4. 
 
¶3. (U)  BEGIN TEXT OF LETTER: 
 
Hanoi, 29 June, 2009 
 
TO: H.E. Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack 
United States Department of Agriculture 
 
Your Excellency, 
 
Following up the discussions on our recent meeting in April 2009 in 
Washington, DC on the expanding of access for US beef to Vietnamese 
market, I am very pleased to inform you that from 1 July 2009 our 
market is opened for the de-boned skeletal muscle meat from cattle 
over 30 months' age, subject to the fulfillment of technical 
requirements indicated in the Export Certificate/Animal Products 
(document attached). 
 
In this regard, I have instructed our Department of Animal Health 
(DAH) to work closely with APHIS to facilitate US exporters meeting 
the set technical requirements so that de-boned skeletal muscle meat 
from cattle over 30 months' age can be present in our local markets 
very soon. 
 
Please accept, Excellency, my best regards. 
 
Cao Duc Phat 
Minister 
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam 
END TEXT OF LETTER 
 
¶4.  (U) The conditions for the FSIS health certificate are: 
 
¶1. The boneless beef is originated from cattle that were at the time 
of slaughter over 30 months of age. 
¶2. The boneless beef has been derived from cattle which were born 
and raised in the United States and have remained there since 
birth; 
¶3. The cattle from which the product was derived were not fed 
ruminant origin meat-and-bone meal or greaves; 
¶4. The cattle were not subjected to a stunning process, prior to 
slaughter, with a device injecting compressed air or gas into the 
cranial cavity, or to a pithing process; 
¶5. The cattle must pass ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection, no 
disease symptom found, were not suspect or confirmed BSE cases and 
the cattle is fit to slaughter for human consumption; 
¶6. The boneless beef  was not derived from the following specified 
risk materials: the brain, skull, eyes, trigeminal ganglia, spinal 
cord, vertebral column and other bones, dorsal root ganglia, and the 
tonsils, and distal ileum of the small intestine; 
 
HANOI 00000632  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶7. The boneless beef does not contain residues that maybe of harmful 
to human being and the contents of organisms do not exceed 
acceptable limits as required by regulations of the importing 
country; 
¶8. The boneless beef does not include advanced recover beef or 
mechanically separated beef; 
¶9. Packaging materials must not be harmful for human being; all 
details such as origin/exporting country, ID number of slaughtering 
and processing facilities, age of cattle must be clearly stated on 
the cover of the package; 
¶10. The boneless beef imported into Vietnam from the United States 
must meet US standards for beef and meet requirements of Vietnam. 
 
END CONDITIONS FOR THE FSIS HEALTH CERTIFICATE 
 
 
Michalak