JPN group may boycott US beef
Japan consumer groups threaten U.S. beef boycott
KTIC 840 Rural Radio
TOKYO, Oct 27, 2005 (Reuters) - Japanese consumer groups said on Thursday they would launch a campaign to boycott U.S. beef, banned from Japan for nearly two years on concerns about mad cow disease, if the government decides to resume imports.
The government has said it would ease its ban if Japan's Food Safety Commission declares U.S. beef is as safe as domestic meat.
A commission subcommittee that has been assessing the safety of U.S. beef for five months is expected to reach a conclusion at a meeting on Oct. 31.
Yasuaki Yamaura, vice chairman of Consumers Union of Japan, said subcommittee members should not yield to growing pressure from the U.S. and Japanese governments to approve a resumption of imports, as they have acknowledged that U.S. safety measures against mad cow disease are insufficient.
"If the government presses ahead with the plan to resume U.S. beef imports, we will take various actions, including a campaign to boycott U.S. beef," Yamaura told a news conference. He said his organisation and 10 other consumers' and farmers' groups were campaigning against a resumption of imports.
Japan was the biggest global buyer of U.S. beef before the ban was imposed in December 2003, after the first U.S. case of mad cow disease was found in Washington state in December 2003.
The ban has produced a rising tide of anger and frustration in the United States, where lawmakers have proposed retaliatory tariffs on Japanese products if it is not lifted.
THE TESTING QUESTION
U.S. beef is at higher risk than Japanese beef, Yamaura said, because the U.S. government does not test all cattle for mad cow disease in order to keep infected animals out of food supplies. In Japan, local governments continue to test all cattle, although the Health Ministry dropped the universal testing policy in August.
He said U.S. cattle were also at higher risk than Japanese animals because their feed may be contaminated with materials that could transmit mad cow disease.
In Japan, meat-and-bone meal (MBM) produced from cattle, which is thought to cause mad cow disease, is banned as a feed for all animals.
The United States banned MBM made from cattle as cattle feed in 1997 but did not bar its use as a feed for other animals such as pigs and poultry. The U.S. government said this month it would tighten its rules on feed, but U.S. consumer groups said the proposals were far too weak.
Always fatal, mad cow disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), is believed to be caused by malformed proteins and spread through infected feed.
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human version of BSE, is thought to be spread by eating contaminated meat. It has caused more than 150 deaths worldwide, including one in Japan.
In October last year, Japan agreed with the United States to resume imports of beef from cattle aged 20 months or younger, which are considered to be at low risk from BSE.
The countries also agreed that specified risk materials, such as bovine heads and spinal cords, must be removed from cattle of all ages before the meat was shipped to Japan.
Frustrated by Japan's protracted ban, 20 U.S. senators from both political parties have unveiled legislation to impose $3.14 billion in tariffs on Japanese products if the beef ban is not lifted by mid-December.
Before the ban, Japan was the top importer of U.S. beef, with imports valued at $1.4 billion in 2003.
JPN Embassy rips US on tariff talk
Japan Embassy slams Senate bill over beef imports
Kyodo News
October 27, 2005
(Kyodo) _ The Japanese Embassy moved quickly Wednesday to criticize a U.S. Senate bill calling for retaliatory tariffs over Japan's 22-month-old import ban on U.S. beef, and issued an explanation of what Japan was doing to end the impasse.
"We are disappointed," the embassy said in a statement distributed to news organizations soon after 21 senators introduced the bill to impose punitive tariffs worth $3.14 billion annually on Japanese products by the end of the year if Japan fails to end the import restriction.
In a press conference, Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ryozo Kato said, "It's not a productive move."
Kato expressed hope that the sanctions will not be imposed, and said he has explained to U.S. lawmakers that the Japanese government cannot set a timetable for ending the import ban because it has to wait for approval by the independent Food Safety Commission.
While acknowledging the growing frustration on the U.S. side, Kato said he will continue to seek understanding for Japan's situation.
"It's not a trade issue. It's a matter of scientifically certifying food safety," Kato said.
U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss told reporters that Kato has asked for a meeting with him next week, and Chambliss said he will make that his "top priority."
Japan was the largest importer of U.S. beef before the ban was imposed in December 2003 when the United States discovered its first case of mad cow disease.
In the statement, the embassy said, "The domestic procedures in Japan necessary to reopen its market to U.S. beef are in the last stage."
Stressing that "tangible progress" was made in the commission's subcommittee meeting on Monday, the embassy said, "A threat of retaliation is not helpful in solving the problem based on science."
The subcommittee's chairman explained after the meeting that the panel will try to finalize a draft document, which will conclude that the difference between the risk of mad cow disease from beef from U.S. cattle aged up to 20 months and that from Japanese beef is "very small," the embassy said.
The panel will meet again next Monday, it said.
Japan agreed with the United States in October last year to work toward resuming imports of U.S. beef, provided it is from cattle aged up to 20 months.
The statement outlined the steps to be taken, such as four weeks of public hearings, toward resuming imports after the subcommittee adopts the draft document, but did not give any timeline.
"The Japanese government is determined to make its best efforts to resolve the issue as promptly as possible, while securing food safety for consumers based on science, so that this issue will not harm the excellent relations between Japan and the United States," the embassy said.
asia.news.yahoo.com
Japan consumer groups threaten U.S. beef boycott
KTIC 840 Rural Radio
TOKYO, Oct 27, 2005 (Reuters) - Japanese consumer groups said on Thursday they would launch a campaign to boycott U.S. beef, banned from Japan for nearly two years on concerns about mad cow disease, if the government decides to resume imports.
The government has said it would ease its ban if Japan's Food Safety Commission declares U.S. beef is as safe as domestic meat.
A commission subcommittee that has been assessing the safety of U.S. beef for five months is expected to reach a conclusion at a meeting on Oct. 31.
Yasuaki Yamaura, vice chairman of Consumers Union of Japan, said subcommittee members should not yield to growing pressure from the U.S. and Japanese governments to approve a resumption of imports, as they have acknowledged that U.S. safety measures against mad cow disease are insufficient.
"If the government presses ahead with the plan to resume U.S. beef imports, we will take various actions, including a campaign to boycott U.S. beef," Yamaura told a news conference. He said his organisation and 10 other consumers' and farmers' groups were campaigning against a resumption of imports.
Japan was the biggest global buyer of U.S. beef before the ban was imposed in December 2003, after the first U.S. case of mad cow disease was found in Washington state in December 2003.
The ban has produced a rising tide of anger and frustration in the United States, where lawmakers have proposed retaliatory tariffs on Japanese products if it is not lifted.
THE TESTING QUESTION
U.S. beef is at higher risk than Japanese beef, Yamaura said, because the U.S. government does not test all cattle for mad cow disease in order to keep infected animals out of food supplies. In Japan, local governments continue to test all cattle, although the Health Ministry dropped the universal testing policy in August.
He said U.S. cattle were also at higher risk than Japanese animals because their feed may be contaminated with materials that could transmit mad cow disease.
In Japan, meat-and-bone meal (MBM) produced from cattle, which is thought to cause mad cow disease, is banned as a feed for all animals.
The United States banned MBM made from cattle as cattle feed in 1997 but did not bar its use as a feed for other animals such as pigs and poultry. The U.S. government said this month it would tighten its rules on feed, but U.S. consumer groups said the proposals were far too weak.
Always fatal, mad cow disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), is believed to be caused by malformed proteins and spread through infected feed.
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human version of BSE, is thought to be spread by eating contaminated meat. It has caused more than 150 deaths worldwide, including one in Japan.
In October last year, Japan agreed with the United States to resume imports of beef from cattle aged 20 months or younger, which are considered to be at low risk from BSE.
The countries also agreed that specified risk materials, such as bovine heads and spinal cords, must be removed from cattle of all ages before the meat was shipped to Japan.
Frustrated by Japan's protracted ban, 20 U.S. senators from both political parties have unveiled legislation to impose $3.14 billion in tariffs on Japanese products if the beef ban is not lifted by mid-December.
Before the ban, Japan was the top importer of U.S. beef, with imports valued at $1.4 billion in 2003.
JPN Embassy rips US on tariff talk
Japan Embassy slams Senate bill over beef imports
Kyodo News
October 27, 2005
(Kyodo) _ The Japanese Embassy moved quickly Wednesday to criticize a U.S. Senate bill calling for retaliatory tariffs over Japan's 22-month-old import ban on U.S. beef, and issued an explanation of what Japan was doing to end the impasse.
"We are disappointed," the embassy said in a statement distributed to news organizations soon after 21 senators introduced the bill to impose punitive tariffs worth $3.14 billion annually on Japanese products by the end of the year if Japan fails to end the import restriction.
In a press conference, Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ryozo Kato said, "It's not a productive move."
Kato expressed hope that the sanctions will not be imposed, and said he has explained to U.S. lawmakers that the Japanese government cannot set a timetable for ending the import ban because it has to wait for approval by the independent Food Safety Commission.
While acknowledging the growing frustration on the U.S. side, Kato said he will continue to seek understanding for Japan's situation.
"It's not a trade issue. It's a matter of scientifically certifying food safety," Kato said.
U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss told reporters that Kato has asked for a meeting with him next week, and Chambliss said he will make that his "top priority."
Japan was the largest importer of U.S. beef before the ban was imposed in December 2003 when the United States discovered its first case of mad cow disease.
In the statement, the embassy said, "The domestic procedures in Japan necessary to reopen its market to U.S. beef are in the last stage."
Stressing that "tangible progress" was made in the commission's subcommittee meeting on Monday, the embassy said, "A threat of retaliation is not helpful in solving the problem based on science."
The subcommittee's chairman explained after the meeting that the panel will try to finalize a draft document, which will conclude that the difference between the risk of mad cow disease from beef from U.S. cattle aged up to 20 months and that from Japanese beef is "very small," the embassy said.
The panel will meet again next Monday, it said.
Japan agreed with the United States in October last year to work toward resuming imports of U.S. beef, provided it is from cattle aged up to 20 months.
The statement outlined the steps to be taken, such as four weeks of public hearings, toward resuming imports after the subcommittee adopts the draft document, but did not give any timeline.
"The Japanese government is determined to make its best efforts to resolve the issue as promptly as possible, while securing food safety for consumers based on science, so that this issue will not harm the excellent relations between Japan and the United States," the embassy said.
asia.news.yahoo.com