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US-Japan pact means no more beef trade bans: USDA

Posted on: Wednesday, 21 June 2006, 11:09 CDT

By Christopher Doering

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As part of a U.S.-Japan agreement to restore beef trade, Tokyo could reject individual shipments, rather than cutting off trade altogether, as a safeguard against mad cow disease, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said on Wednesday.

Japan's January 20 suspension of U.S. beef imports came after it discovered banned spinal material in a shipment of veal from New York. U.S. farm groups have since complained Tokyo's response was overblown.

After two video-conference sessions, U.S. and Japanese officials have agreed to re-start trade after Japan inspects three dozen U.S. beef export plants to assure they followed beef safety rules.

Johanns said in a statement that when trade resumes, "my expectation is that minor noncompliance issues will not disrupt our entire trading relationship."

"Instead, Japan has agreed to notify us of such issues and discuss the appropriate course, such as the rejection of individual shipments, if appropriate," Johanns said.

A spokesman for the largest U.S. ranch group, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, said the language was not ironclad, so another cut-off was possible. Japan has banned U.S. beef for 28 of the past 29 months.

The association official said delays were possible as well in the review and approval of U.S. plants, which could prolong the shut-out.

Half a dozen senators from farm and ranch states unveiled legislation for potentially billions of dollars in sanctions against Japan unless sales resume by fall.

"Our goal is resumption of trade -- not promises that trade may resume," said Sen. Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat. "We will proceed with our sanctions bill until Japan opens its beef market to fair trade. We've had promises before that have turned up empty."

Japanese inspectors will begin their tours of U.S. beef processing plants this weekend, Johanns said, with audits to be completed by July 21.

"Upon completion of the audits, Japan has agreed to expeditiously resume beef trade," Johanns said.

"Although this agreement is another step toward the resumption of beef trade with Japan, I will not be satisfied until U.S. beef is once again accepted into the Japanese market."

Japan, once the largest importer of U.S. beef, lifted a two-year ban on U.S. beef imports last December only to shut down its markets again a month later after its inspectors discovered banned spinal column cattle parts in a veal shipment from New York. In 2003, Japan imported an estimated $1.4 billion of U.S. beef.

A summary of the U.S.-Japan agreement released in Tokyo said that, if Japan finds beef that violates the export rules, it will take "appropriate action commensurate with the nature of the violation."

A spokesman for the U.S. Agriculture Department said he was aware of the three-page summary but cautioned, "Clearly, it is not a joint statement" by both nations.

The United States has struggled to restore beef exports to overseas markets, including South Korea and Japan, which totaled $3.8 billion annually before mad cow was first discovered in Washington state in December 2003.

(Additional reporting by Charles Abbott)

Source: REUTERS

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