June 1, 2006

US may introduce legislation banning Japanese beef

In a signal to Japan that the US is increasingly impatient with the way Japan is dragging its heels over the resumption of trading in US beef, US Senator Ben Nelson from Nebraska promised he would introduce legislation next week to ban Japanese beef.

Nelson conceded that the ban was akin to a pin-prick to Japan compared with the losses the Japanese ban is causing US producers.

Nelson said the ban-in-kind was a symbolism of the US imposing a trade sanction in return for Japan's refusal to re-open its markets.

The same punishment was proposed last year and gained a majority vote in the Senate but faded into obscurity during debates.

Japan has banned US beef for about 2½ years as a response to the first confirmed case of mad cow disease in the US, with a short resumption in December last year which was abruptly ended after banned materials were found in a shipment a few days later.