August 25, 2004

Japan, US Beef Trade Deal Seen Delayed Until September
 
The settlement of a row between Japan and the U.S. over Tokyo's import ban on U.S. beef following a case of mad cow disease may be delayed until September or later. This is despite the two countries pledging efforts to conclude talks this summer, the Kyodo news agency reported.
 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshiyuki Kamei told reporters Tuesday, "No detailed schedule of talks has been set at this stage," according to Kyodo report.
 
The two countries are now trying to hold high-level beef trade talks aimed at lifting Tokyo's import ban by mid-September, government sources said in the report.
 
During previous bilateral talks, the two countries agreed on the technical limitations of blanket testing covering all slaughtered cattle for mad cow disease, Kyodo said.
 
Experts and government officials from both sides agreed that "accumulated abnormal prion protein in younger animals" is unlikely to be detected using current testing methods, Kyodo reported.
 
Prions, which indicate infection, accumulate in the brain of cows as they age. Japan and the U.S., however, failed to determine which age brackets "younger animals" fall into, the news agency reported.
 
Tokyo imposed the import ban on American beef after the first U.S. case of the brain-wasting disease was confirmed in a Canadian-born cow in the state of Washington last December, Kyodo reported.
 
To remove the import ban, Tokyo has been asking the U.S. government to test all slaughtered cattle for the disease or provide equivalent safety assurances. Washington maintains blanket testing is unscientific, Kyodo reported.