041125 Beef Trade to Asia Returning to Normal

Washington, DC - The United States and Japan have concluded technical discussions on guidelines governing beef trade among countries affected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, commonly known as "mad cow disease"), setting the stage for a restoration of trade in U.S. beef products, according to officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman, Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services J.B. Penn and USDA chief economist Keith Collins spoke to reporters in a November 9 teleconference. The USDA officials said the United States and Japan must now develop plans for an interim program allowing resumption of beef trade. The Japanese government banned such trade after a single case of BSE was discovered in U.S. cattle herds in December 2003.

Annual U.S. trade in beef and ruminant products totaled $7.5 billion before the ban, according to Penn. After the discovery of the BSE case, he said, some 64% of markets were immediately closed to U.S. exports. As the United States implemented significant new protections for public health and measures to eradicate any threat of BSE from U.S. cattle herds, Penn said, it made significant headway in reassuring trading partners and reopening markets.

"Of those markets that remain closed, the Asian countries account for the vast bulk of the sales; and of those, Japan is our largest and our number one market overall," he noted. "And its actions are closely watched by others across the region."

In April, the United States and Japan began discussions to improve understanding of BSE, strengthen measures to protect public and animal health, and establish guidelines for international beef trade. The two countries had hoped to restore trade in beef by the end of summer 2004. With the successful conclusion of technical discussions, the two sides have shifted focus to how trade will resume, Penn said.

"For our part, we will develop an interim trade program that involves shipping only beef and products from animals 20 months of age and under," he said. "We will then, jointly with our Japanese counterparts and with input from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE, or Office International des Epizooties), review this arrangement in July 2005."

A particularly difficult issue between the two sides has been Japan's insistence on mandatory universal testing of animals for BSE. The United States has held -- with support from the OIE -- that such extensive tests are unjustified.

"The testing procedures that we now have only allow you to test an animal positively if it's within, say, two to six months of actually showing signs," Veneman pointed out. "And virtually all of the testing has shown that cattle under certain ages don't show signs of BSE."

The secretary noted that Japan is now changing its own regulations in recognition of international scientific standards.

Penn recently returned from a trip to Asia, where he met with officials in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and China.

Taiwan, a $325 million market for the United States in 2003, has nearly completed an internal review process, Penn said. In mid-November, Taiwan will send a technical team to the United States to observe operations of the U.S. beef production and processing system firsthand. On the basis of the team's report, authorities will decide whether to resume trade.

South Korea, Penn reported, has been waiting to see what action the Japanese government takes. Penn said he updated the South Korean minister of agriculture on negotiations between the U.S. and Japan. The minister indicated that his government will start internal consultations with experts, but Penn said it isn't clear how long the process will take.

In China, there are indications that some movement on U.S. "low-risk products," such as semen and embryos, may be imminent, Penn said. "These are products that the OIE says should not be banned in any case," he added.

While the U.S. delegation was in China, Penn reported, it also discussed the Chinese ban on U.S. poultry products in relation to avian flu outbreaks. "I am pleased to report today (November 9)," Penn said, "that the Chinese officials have announced that they are lifting their ban on the imports of U.S. live poultry and poultry products."

RETURN TO HOME PAGE

E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com