Sheinbaum Confirms Resumption of Mexican Cattle Exports to the US

ByAlonso Urrutia and Alma Muñoz

This article by Alonso Urrutia and Alma Muñoz originally appeared in the July 24, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

President Claudia Sheinbaum reported that, through a letter from the United States Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, the reopening of the border to Mexican cattle was formalized, so that starting in August the export of Mexican production will resume.

Through her social media, Sheinbaum Pardo detailed that, following the official U.S. notification, she instructed the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development to accelerate “even further the work and collaboration with the United States to have everything ready as quickly as possible to restart the movement of cattle. Exports will resume starting in the last weeks of the month of August through Agua Prieta, Sonora, followed shortly after by two additional points in the state of Chihuahua.”

The resurgence of the screwworm plague in Mexico and its growth prompted the United States to cancel the importation of Mexican cattle on May 11, 2025, affecting mainly ranchers in the north of the country.

The president considered that Rollins’s letter represents great news for Mexican ranchers.

“I recognize the effort they have made over many months to contain the screwworm plague, collaborating with the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development and the National Service of Agri-Food Health, Safety, and Quality (Senasica).”

She gave particular recognition to the former head of Sader, Julio Berdegué, and to Columba López, the current head of the agency, for their great effort to achieve the reopening of the border.