July 24, 2009
US unhappy with Japan's beef import rule
Washington is unhappy at Japan's groundless restriction of US beef imports due to fear of mad cow disease, according to the US interim envoy on Thursday (Jul 23).
Japan imports US beef only from cattle aged 20 months or less after the first US case of mad cow disease was found in 2003.
James Zumwalt of the US Embassy said Japan's age rule has no scientific basis.
Zumwalt said as a result US beef exports to Japan are currently only a quarter of the level before the age restriction was imposed.
But he also expressed confidence that the discord will not develop into a contentious trade dispute, saying the two countries need to work through the issue.
In a related development, Japan on Wednesday (Jul 22) suspended beef imports from a US beef plant after banned materials were found in shipments. It was not the first time banned materials were found in US beef shipments to Japan.
