Japan ban

[rancher]

Taipei, Mar 24, 2005 (BBC Monitoring via COMTEX) -- An import ban on live cattle from the United States will remain in place after US beef is allowed to enter the Taiwan market again next month, the cabinet-level Council of Agriculture (COA) said Thursday [24 March].

The council made the announcement after the Department of Health (DOH) declared earlier in the day that the ban on US beef imports will be conditionally lifted 16 April, ending a more-than one-year import ban over concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease. COA officials said the lifting of the import ban will be applicable strictly to items clearly listed by the DOH. The import ban on live cattle and related products will remain in place in line with regulations set forth by the World Animal Health Organization, the officials said.


What do they mean by this statement-"The import ban on live cattle and related products will remain in place in line with regulations set forth by the World Animal Health Organization, the officials said.
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[TimH]

Rancher- "What do they mean by this statement-"The import ban on live cattle and related products will remain in place in line with regulations set forth by the World Animal Health Organization, the officials said. "

The only thing I can think of ,offhand, is that the USA's feed ban,like Canada's, has not yet been in effect for the full 8 year period. I believe it will be in August of this year. Maybe that is what they mean,maybe not.

Beyond that their use of the word "regulations" is misleading. It should be "OIE GUIDELINES". That is one of the major problems with this whole BSE deal. There are no agreed upon rules that importing or exporting countries have signed on tnly "guidelines" that various countries may or may not follow in whole or in part or when it suits them.
If there would have been an actual agreement in place back in May 2003, when BSE was discovered,that said "NO EXPORTS FOR X-number of YEARS", a lot of folks would have done things a lot different. The way it stands now, nobody really knows what is going to happen next. Makes it tough to operate!!! :roll: