1.   Glickman said the EU failed to provide data certifying those countries as free of the disease, even though a request for information was made in August.

2.   If a country is not certified, it may be subject to trade sanctions as well as deprivation of U.S. aid other than funds to fight drugs.

3.   If Clinton fails to certify a country, it faces a host of economic and political sanctions from the United States.

4.   In Mexico, though the decision to certify that country was welcomed, the process itself also came under criticism.

5.   Last year, Clinton granted a waiver to Colombia certifying that country by invoking national interest even though it failed to make the grade.

6.   Still, that country was certified only weeks later while Colombia was not, fueling criticism from members of congress and various organizations.

7.   The bill would suspend for two years the process of certifying a country as cooperative or not cooperative in the fight against drugs.

8.   The president can either certify a country as cooperative or decertify it, which can lead to economic sanctions.

9.   The U.S. must first certify a country free of the disease and make other food safety and animal health evaluations before meat exports are permitted to the U.S.

10.   Most countries were fully certified and a few were decertified but were spared economic penalties on national security grounds.