The heart of the American Meat Institute lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is based on the contention that the agencies "have relied on standards set by OIE, the World Organization for Animal Health, an intergovernmental organization that monitors global animal disease situations and promulgates internationally recognized and accepted health standards for international trade in animals and animal products."

Under this contention, cattle born after the 1997 implementation of the Canadian ban on feed containing bovine byproducts would have been eligible for international trade. In other words, cattle up to approximately 84 months of age would be acceptable for live trade with the United States, and to set the limit at 30 months, AMI says, is "arbitrary and capricious" and will "severely and irreparably" injure AMI members who process beef.

Apart from the harm to American processors, AMI says, USDA is violating the Administrative Procedure Act, which "prohibits defendants from adopting or maintaining rules that are arbitrary and capricious or contrary to law." AMI contends that there is no difference between slaughtering cattle over 30 months old in Canada or in the United States, apart from the economic harm it causes U.S. producers.

"There is no scientific basis for distinguishing between live cattle and processed beef in this way, especially because APHIS has acknowledged that Canada's BSE risk-mitigation measures are equivalent to those adopted here in the United States," the suit states. Prohibiting the importation of live cattle over 30 months, while permitting the importation of beef from identical cattle, is "arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law."

The association claims that since its members have no relief under the law (meaning there is no one to collect damages from), the court should issue a declaratory judgment that continued enforcement of the Initial Border Closing Order, which banned import of all live cattle, is unlawful; issue an injunction against enforcement of the Initial Border Closing Order now that APHIS has determined that beef products from those same animals may enter the country for sale; and award AMI's costs and attorney's fees.