March 13, 2007

Japan will not ease on US beef imports
 

Japan will not relax its import terms for American beef despite Washington's announcement that an international animal health organisation has decided to categorise the United States as a country that can export beef regardless of cattle age, a senior farm ministry official said Monday (March 12).

The decision will not immediately lead to changes in import terms for US beef Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries vice minister Yoshio Kobayashi said.

Noting that an examination of US terms for beef exports to Japan has yet to be completed, Kobayashi said Japan is not at stage of participating in negotiations to review the terms of trade.

Last Friday, the US Agriculture Department announced the decision by the Scientific Commission of the World Organization for Animal Health or OIE to formalise its declaration on US cattle.

With official beef-safety status, the United States is expected to press Japan to raise the age limit on cattle slaughtered for its beef imports to 30 months from the current 20 or to remove the age limit completely.

The age limit has been a point of controversy between Tokyo and Washington over Japanese imports of American beef.

Japan banned US beef imports after the first mad cow disease case was discovered in the country in December 2003.

The ban was lifted in December 2005 but reinstated the following month after a veal shipment from the US that arrived at Narita airport was found to contain part of a backbone, a risk material banned under a bilateral beef trade agreement.

The ban was again removed last July after Japanese government inspectors checked the safeguard measures at meatpacking plants that the United States has certified as suppliers to Japan.

The safety of beef and consumer confidence are the "whole premise" of reviewing import terms, Kobayashi said.