June 30, 2006

Japan offers no timeframe for full US beef import resumption

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reassured US President George W. Bush Thursday (Jun 29) that Japan will indeed resume importing beef, but no timeframe was given, a Japanese government official said.

A member of the Japanese delegation travelling with Koizumi said Japan is taking the process of resuming trade "step by step" and would not set a deadline. The Japanese government official briefed US reporters on Koizumi's meeting Thursday with Bush.

In a deal reached between the two countries last week, Japan agreed to resume importing US beef, but only sometime after its auditors visited 35 US beef producing facilities to make sure they are employing the agreed upon safety measures.

Those auditors are now in the US and are scheduled to wrap up their visit by July 21.

It was in January that Japan stopped importing US beef because a shipment contained prohibited material. The trade halt came about a month after Japan had eased a two-year ban on US beef. That original ban was put on the US beef in response to the first discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, in the US.