March 3, 2005

 

US urged to be patient over Japan's resumption of beef imports

 

 

Japan has asked the United States to be patient as it decides how to test cattle for mad cow disease amid fresh threats of retaliation by Washington unless Japan reopens its market to US beef.

 

"I hope the US side will wait and see the Japanese discussions," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda, the government's spokesman said.

 

"We fully understand that US businesses have strongly urged the US government for resumption," he told reporters.

 

"There has been close communication between the Japanese and US governments. We have been working hard to resolve the issue while seeking a profound understanding of each other," Hosoda said.

 

Japan stopped buying US beef in December 2003 after a cow slaughtered in Washington state was found to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease, linked to a fatal brain condition in humans.

 

In Washington, new US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns told Congress that despite repeated prodding of the Japanese, he could not give a specific date as to when the ban on US beef would be lifted.

 

He blamed the delay on "the plodding regulatory process that Japan insists on using" and warned that "additional delays could further complicate relations between the United States and Japan".

 

Farm-state senators have called on President George W. Bush's administration to impose economic sanctions on Japan unless it swiftly resumes US beef imports.

 

The United States may limit Japanese tire imports to increase pressure on Tokyo, the Sankei Shimbun newspaper said, quoting unspecified sources involved in the beef negotiations.

 

However, the newspaper said Japan would withstand the latest pressure and was unlikely to lift the ban on US beef imports until the summer to wait for a decision by the government's food safety panel.

 

Japan was the biggest market for US beef and Johanns said the industry had lost 4.8 billion dollars from lost exports to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, which followed Tokyo's lead in stopping imports.

 

Japan has agreed in principle to buy US beef again but says it must be sure it is safe.

 

It is the only Asian country to have reported mad cow disease among its own herds and screens every cow slaughtered for consumption.

 

After intense US pressure, Japan said in October it would exempt US cows aged 20 months or younger from screening tests if high risk parts such as brains and spinal cords were removed.

 

A lingering controversy remains on how to verify the age of the cattle, with Japanese experts saying they did not have enough data to accept the method recommended by the United States.

 

With his members up in arms, National Cattlemen's Beef Association president Jim McAdams urged the Bush administration and members of Congress Tuesday to take "strong action" at all levels of government to get Japan to reopen its market.

 

"To apply the most pressure necessary, the administration and Congress should consider all options, including economic sanctions," McAdams said.