US Requires Japan To Lift Ban On Beef Import

The U.S. government on December 29 demanded that Japan “conditionally” lift the ban on beef imports from the U.S., which was carried out just after a wave of mad cow disease wave swept over the world.

It is expected that the U.S. administration will also require Korea to implement the same measures on beef importation; the trade conflict between Korea and U.S. on the beef problem seems to be heightened.

On December 29, U.S. delegates including three special agricultural secretaries such as David Hagwood, held practical level negotiations with the Japanese side on the mad cow disease problem, discussing solutions to resume U.S. beef imports.

It is known that the U.S. side, in the talks, has suggested the partial removal of the embargo, on the condition of securing the safety of imported goods at the governmental level.

Japanese newspapers have reported that because a total check of all imported meat and processed meat goods, is practically impossible, their suggestion was made to make goods with the guarantee of the U.S. Agriculture Ministry safe to import.

According to this, the Japanese side set forth that “We can lift the ban on beef imports, if all the imported meat for table use is checked for mad cow disease, or any kind of safety measures similar to that are brought up.”

But Sankei Shimbun reported that day that “The Japanese government will alleviate the embargo, if the problematic cow is confirmed to have been imported from another country.”

On the other hand, the Agriculture Ministry remarked, “As Korea is a country free from mad cow disease, regardless of the problematic cow being confirmed as having been brought from Canada, we have to step up the eight-level import procedures again, including spot inspections. We will not lift the ban on U.S. beef imports in the next several years.”

“Once the ban was declared, the former import customs have become nullified,” remarked Kim Chang-seop, the chief of the stock quarantine department of the Agriculture Ministry, adding “Stepping up each of the eight-level procedures again means that it takes about several years to lift the ban on imports.” On the other hand, the U.S. Agriculture Ministry has confirmed that 4.5 tons of meat, from the Holstein cow infected with mad cow disease, and 19 other cows killed with it, have been distributed to eight states including Washington state and Guam so far. The ministry has expanded the range of the recall.

Most of this beef has been distributed in Washington and Oregon State, and to California, Nevada, Montana, Hawaii, Idaho, Alaska and Guam, as a minced type of meat. Also, the Wall Street Journal reported that “The remarks of the U.S. officials that the red meat is safe from the mad cow disease do not have sufficient scientific backing.”