Japan, U.S. agree on beef import resumption

By Aya Takada

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan agreed on Wednesday to resume U.S.
beef imports, which have been suspended for five months due to
concerns about mad cow disease, after it inspects beef
processing plants authorized by the U.S. government as
suppliers to Japan.

Japan’s ban on U.S. beef has been one of the thorniest
economic issues between Tokyo and Washington recently. Before
the ban, Japan was the top importer of U.S. beef, buying
240,000 tonnes valued at $1.4 billion in 2003.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi leaves in just
over a week for talks with President Bush in Washington.
Lawmakers there, threatening trade retaliation against Japan,
had urged Tokyo to settle the issue before the heads of the two
governments meet.

“Both sides have confirmed necessary procedures for an
import resumption,” said an official at Japan’s Agriculture
Ministry after a three-hour video conference with U.S.
counterparts on Wednesday morning, which followed five hours of
talks on Tuesday.

The talks were protracted as the two governments were
divided over what Japan should do if it again discovers a U.S.
shipment that violates beef trade agreement between the two
countries. Japanese consumer groups criticized Wednesday’s beef
agreement, saying Tokyo had yielded to U.S. pressure to resume
imports, ignoring consumer worries about the safety of U.S.
beef.

“The government has put priority on the political schedule
between the two countries, not on food safety or human health,”
said Michiko Kamiyama at Food Safety Citizen Watch.

Mad cow disease is believed to be caused by malformed
proteins and spread through infected feed. The human variant of
the disease is thought to be spread by eating contaminated meat
and has caused over 160 deaths worldwide, including one in
Japan.

Some members of the public were also skeptical about
Wednesday’s agreement.

Akiyoshi Imai, a 50-year-old office worker who said he
loves the Japanese dish “gyudon,” or beef over rice, welcomed
the resumption of imports but said he was still not sure of the
safety of U.S. beef.

“It does smell a bit fishy, like this was meant as a
present for Koizumi to take to the United States,” he said.

Last December Japan lifted a two-year-old ban on U.S. beef
and beef offal on condition that the meat was only from animals
aged up to 20 months and that risk materials such as spinal
cords that can spread mad cow disease were removed before
shipment.

But a month later it suspended imports because Japanese
inspectors found banned cattle parts in a U.S. veal shipment.

Criticizing the Japanese action as excessive, the U.S.
government asked Japan not to suspend beef imports from U.S.
plants that meet the safety requirements, even if Japan again
finds non-compliance with the requirements by a U.S. exporter.

But Japan refused to promise that, as the government
explained to Japanese consumers that it would keep a ban on
U.S. beef until the U.S. implements measures to prevent further
U.S. violations of the beef trade agreement.

To check if U.S. companies operate in line with the safety
requirements, Japan’s farm and health ministries plan to
inspect all 35 beef processing plants authorized by the U.S.
government as eligible suppliers to Japan.

Beef shipments will only be allowed into Japan from U.S.
plants that meet the requirements, Japanese officials have
said.

The ministries also asked the U.S. to conduct surprise
inspections of the authorized plants after beef trade resumes,
and to allow Japanese officials to attend.

They also plan to tighten checking of U.S. beef shipments
upon arrival to prevent products that do not meet the safety
requirements from coming into the Japanese market.