MEXICO CITY, May 12, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The United States will suspend livestock imports from Mexico for 15 days over a pest control row between the major trade partners, officials said Sunday.

US President Donald Trump's administration warned late April that Washington would introduce restrictions unless Mexico acted to help control a screwworm fly outbreak, whose flesh-eating larvae can kill cattle.

Mexican Agriculture Minister Julio Berdegue said Sunday his US counterpart Brooke Rollins had told him "the border would be closed to the export of livestock for 15 days to review the joint strategy against the screwworm."

"We do not agree with this measure, but we are confident that in a shorter time we will be reaching an agreement," Berdegue added on X.

Rollins said in a statememt: "Once we see increased surveillance and eradication efforts, and the positive results of those actions, we remain committed to opening the border for livestock trade."

"This is not about politics or punishment of Mexico, rather it is about food and animal safety," she added.

In 2024, the United States applied a similar blockade on livestock from Mexico due to similar concerns about a screwworm outbreak.

The row comes against a backdrop of increased trade tensions between the neighboring countries as a result of US tariffs.

Mexico exported just over one million head of cattle to the United States last year, according to estimates by both governments.