Beef Buzz News
US Senators Call on President Obama to Demand Full Access of Japanese Market for US Beef
Wed, 09 Mar 2011 4:29:11 CST
Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) has urged the Administration to press Japan to fully open its market to U.S. beef in light of Japan's interest in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). A letter authored by Johanns and signed by 26 of his colleagues, including five Democrats, calls for President Obama to encourage Japanese leaders to immediately relax restrictions on U.S. beef if Japan seeks inclusion in TPP negotiations. Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe is among those who have signed this letter to the President. Click here to read the full letter and to see all of the signatures of the Senators who signed off on the letter.
"Japan is an important trading partner to the U.S. and I would strongly support a robust trade agreement that includes both countries, but it has no leg to stand on without fixing the beef issue first," said Johanns. "Our beef industry has been unfairly targeted and restricted for far too long. Japan's restrictions are not based in science and irrationally punish one of our most competitive industries. Our farmers and ranchers have always produced the highest quality beef and our internationally renowned food safety system has protected consumers for decades. It's time for Japan to recognize these efforts and remove their unjustifiable barriers."
The United States is currently in negotiations with eight other countries to join the TPP, a multilateral trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region. Recently, Japan expressed interest in joining TPP negotiations.
Japan originally closed its borders to all American beef products in 2003 after the discovery of one cow with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and currently only allows imports of U.S. beef from cattle aged 20 months or younger. Prior to that, Japan was the largest market for U.S. beef, with exports valued at $1.4 billion. Since 2003, there have only been 3 confirmed cases of BSE in the U.S. and none since 2006. By contrast, Japan has confirmed 36 cases of BSE since 2003 with a cattle herd only 5 percent the size of the U.S. cattle herd.
National Cattlemen's Beef Association Manager of Legislative Affairs Kent Bacus said the restrictions put U.S. cattlemen and women at a competitive disadvantage without any science-based rationale.
"The United States hasn't taken this lightly. We have multiple safeguards currently in place that have prevented BSE from taking hold in our country," said Bacus. "The trade barriers Japan has in place on U.S. beef appear to be motivated by something other than science."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has aggressively enhanced its BSE surveillance system since 1990, testing at levels forty times higher than recommended by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). As a result, out of a U.S. cattle inventory numbering nearly 100 million head every year, there have only been three confirmed cases of BSE since 2003. In contrast, Japan, with an annual cattle inventory of only 4.5 million head, has had 36 cases of BSE since 2003. Because of these efforts, the United States is classified as a controlled risk country by the OIE, which indicates that U.S. beef products are completely safe for export and consumption.
"If Japan asks for inclusion in the TPP negotiations, we encourage you to press Japanese leaders to immediately relax its restrictions on U.S. beef to be fully consistent with OIE guidelines and reopen its market," the senators penned. "At the very least, Japan should agree to immediately relax its age restrictions to 30 months and address other issues necessary to achieve a commercially-viable, science-based import protocol, while also laying a clear pathway for eventual full OIE compliance. Likewise, we would have serious reservations with any TPP agreement submitted to Congress that includes Japan if it has not made commitments to fully complete this process, as well as eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers on its TPP partners' agricultural exports."
This letter is our focus on today's Beef Buzz.
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