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U.S. steps up demand for beef ban end
WASHINGTON, Mar 02, 2005 (The Yomiuri Shimbun - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- The United States has directed sharp criticism at Japan for being slow to lift a ban on U.S. beef imports in an annual commerce report released Tuesday.
In the report submitted to the U.S. Congress, the U.S. government said the two countries agreed in principle in October that Japan would resume imports of U.S. beef, but the lack of progress since has severely affected the U.S. beef industry.
Identifying the beef issue as the top priority in bilateral commerce, the report stressed the U.S. government, at the highest levels, would push for the reopening of the market without delay, adding Washington would take all appropriate measures.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns told a House of Representatives Agriculture Committee hearing Tuesday that Washington had repeatedly asked Tokyo to clarify when it would resume beef imports. If Japan continues to delay the resumption, it may complicate the bilateral relationship, he added.
Japan banned imports of beef from the United States in December 2003 after the United States confirmed its first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
The report raised 17 other issues related to Japan, including kampo postal life insurance, communications, rice and steel. The report detailed progress on the deregulation process and identified problems that needed to be solved.
The report said the United States would monitor whether the Japanese government treats the privatized postal life insurance entity on an equal footing with private life insurance companies.
Also in the report, the United States urged China, with whom it has the largest trade deficit, to protect the intellectual property of U.S. companies and improve the transparency of public administration offices.
WASHINGTON, Mar 02, 2005 (The Yomiuri Shimbun - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- The United States has directed sharp criticism at Japan for being slow to lift a ban on U.S. beef imports in an annual commerce report released Tuesday.
In the report submitted to the U.S. Congress, the U.S. government said the two countries agreed in principle in October that Japan would resume imports of U.S. beef, but the lack of progress since has severely affected the U.S. beef industry.
Identifying the beef issue as the top priority in bilateral commerce, the report stressed the U.S. government, at the highest levels, would push for the reopening of the market without delay, adding Washington would take all appropriate measures.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns told a House of Representatives Agriculture Committee hearing Tuesday that Washington had repeatedly asked Tokyo to clarify when it would resume beef imports. If Japan continues to delay the resumption, it may complicate the bilateral relationship, he added.
Japan banned imports of beef from the United States in December 2003 after the United States confirmed its first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
The report raised 17 other issues related to Japan, including kampo postal life insurance, communications, rice and steel. The report detailed progress on the deregulation process and identified problems that needed to be solved.
The report said the United States would monitor whether the Japanese government treats the privatized postal life insurance entity on an equal footing with private life insurance companies.
Also in the report, the United States urged China, with whom it has the largest trade deficit, to protect the intellectual property of U.S. companies and improve the transparency of public administration offices.
