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Japan turns down U.S. request for early talks on U.S. beef
Yahoo! Asia News \ Kyodo News Japan
January 25, 2007
(Kyodo) _ The agricultural ministry has told the United States it is too early to begin consultations to ease Japan's conditions for American beef imports, a senior ministry official said Thursday.
A letter stating Japan's stance on the issue was sent to Washington on Wednesday, Vice Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshio Kobayashi said at a press conference.
"We are not in a position to accept consultations" for reviewing the import terms as Japan's verification of U.S. beef exporters' observance of conditions attached by Tokyo for lifting its ban on U.S. beef imports has yet to be completed, Kobayashi said.
The U.S. government is anxious to expand American beef exports to Japan, which remain low even after Tokyo resumed beef imports from the United States last July.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns told Japanese agriculture minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka in Washington on Jan. 11 that the United States wants Japan to commence bilateral talks at an early date to explore ways of boosting beef trade with Japan.
In addition, a letter stating the U.S. request was sent to Japan last Friday in expectation that the World Organization for Animal Health, known commonly by the French acronym OIE, will give the United States an official beef-safety status in May.
Japan banned imports of U.S. beef after the first U.S. case of mad-cow disease was discovered in December 2003.
The ban was lifted in December 2005 but reinstated in January the following year after a U.S. veal shipment that arrived at Narita airport was found to contain part of a backbone, a risk material banned under a bilateral agreement on beef trade.
The ban was lifted again last July after Japanese government inspectors checked the safeguards in place at meatpacking plants certified as suppliers to Japan by the U.S. government.
U.S. safeguard standards against mad cow disease require removal of brains, spinals cords, bones and other risk materials from cattle aged 30 months or older to safeguard against the brain-wasting disease, medically called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, which also affects humans.
But Washington agreed on stricter requirements for beef exports to Japan, restricting shipments to meat from cattle aged up to 20 months and removing risk materials before shipping to Japan.
asia.news.yahoo.com
Yahoo! Asia News \ Kyodo News Japan
January 25, 2007
(Kyodo) _ The agricultural ministry has told the United States it is too early to begin consultations to ease Japan's conditions for American beef imports, a senior ministry official said Thursday.
A letter stating Japan's stance on the issue was sent to Washington on Wednesday, Vice Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshio Kobayashi said at a press conference.
"We are not in a position to accept consultations" for reviewing the import terms as Japan's verification of U.S. beef exporters' observance of conditions attached by Tokyo for lifting its ban on U.S. beef imports has yet to be completed, Kobayashi said.
The U.S. government is anxious to expand American beef exports to Japan, which remain low even after Tokyo resumed beef imports from the United States last July.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns told Japanese agriculture minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka in Washington on Jan. 11 that the United States wants Japan to commence bilateral talks at an early date to explore ways of boosting beef trade with Japan.
In addition, a letter stating the U.S. request was sent to Japan last Friday in expectation that the World Organization for Animal Health, known commonly by the French acronym OIE, will give the United States an official beef-safety status in May.
Japan banned imports of U.S. beef after the first U.S. case of mad-cow disease was discovered in December 2003.
The ban was lifted in December 2005 but reinstated in January the following year after a U.S. veal shipment that arrived at Narita airport was found to contain part of a backbone, a risk material banned under a bilateral agreement on beef trade.
The ban was lifted again last July after Japanese government inspectors checked the safeguards in place at meatpacking plants certified as suppliers to Japan by the U.S. government.
U.S. safeguard standards against mad cow disease require removal of brains, spinals cords, bones and other risk materials from cattle aged 30 months or older to safeguard against the brain-wasting disease, medically called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, which also affects humans.
But Washington agreed on stricter requirements for beef exports to Japan, restricting shipments to meat from cattle aged up to 20 months and removing risk materials before shipping to Japan.
asia.news.yahoo.com