April 14, 2006

US gives Japan until the end of the month to re-open beef market

More than 150 years ago, American warships steamed up to Japanese ports and demanded the reclusive nation to open its doors to trade. In the 21st century, such threats were subtler and were done with phone calls instead of warships.

US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns on Thursday (Apr 13) repeated the request that the Japanese ban on US beef be lifted early, warning that the US Congress will likely reach its limit of patience with Japan by the end of this month.

The request was relayed through phone talks with his Japanese counterpart, Shoichi Nakagawa.

Nakagawa insists that Japan is not dragging its feet and is taking steps, such as holding hearings with consumers. However, no time frame was set for ending the import ban.

The two are expected to meet later this month when they attend an informal ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization in Geneva.

Japan reimposed an import ban on US beef in January, the month after it partially lifted a two-year embargo, because of a discovery of high-risk parts in US shipments of beef.