September 28, 2006

Japan's new Agriculture minister says no to easing US beef rules
 

US exporters expecting Japan's new Agriculture minister to ease rules on the US beef trade between the two counties were sorely disappointed when he announced Wednesday (Sep 27) that things would pretty much remain the way they were. 

Japan's new Agriculture Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka said he would adopt his predecessor's stand of rejecting US proposals to ease requirements.

Matsuoka said US beef exporters must convince Japanese consumers they can fully meet current safety requirements before asking for them to be relaxed.

The top priority is to get assurance from US exporters they have no problems with current export conditions, Matsuoka said.

Japan lifted a ban on US beef in July, ending a ban that has largely been in place since December 2003, when mad cow disease broke out in the US.

Japan only accepts beef from cattle less than 20 months old and requires specified risk materials such as spinal cords and brains to be removed before shipment. 

The US beef industry has been asking Japan to relax import requirements to conform to that of other importing countries, which allows beef from cattle less than 30 months old.

Mad cow disease has caused 160 human deaths worldwide, one in Japan.