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Immediate retaliatory economic sanctions should be issued against Japan if that nation fails to abide by its agreement to reopen its borders to beef from the United States, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
In a recent letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives, AFBF President Bob Stallman said Farm Bureau is supporting H.R. 137, a resolution introduced by Rep. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) aimed at resuming U.S. beef shipments to Japan. The resolution calls for immediate retaliatory sanctions if Japan continues to block U.S. beef purchases.
Japan closed its markets to U.S. beef 15 months ago, following the discovery of a single case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in a cow in Washington state. Prior to December 2003, Japan was the largest export customer of U.S. beef, importing more than $1.3 billion annually. The U.S. economy has suffered a loss of $2 billion in sales because of the beef ban.
On Oct. 23, 2004, Japanese and U.S. negotiators reached a framework to resume limited beef exports from cattle less than 20 months of age.
"The Agriculture Department has provided all the necessary technical information and scientific data requested by Japan to implement the agreement," Stallman said. "Yet trade has not resumed and the Japanese market remains closed to U.S. beef."
Because other efforts have failed, Stallman said the retaliatory provisions of H.R. 137 are important in resuming trade with Japan, America's largest beef export market.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department has asked the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a judge's order on a R-CALF USA lawsuit and to immediately allow the government to ease its 22-month-old BSE related ban on cattle imports from Canada. The judge set a date of July 27 for the beginning of a hearing to determine if a permanent injunction should be granted.
The appeal was made to overturn U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull's ruling that blocked USDA's plan to lift restrictions on Canadian cattle imports on March 7. USDA's plan, which included designating Canada as a minimal risk region for BSE, "is the product of a multi-year, deliberative, transparent and science-based process to ensure that human and animal health are fully protected," USDA said in a statement.
If the court hears USDA's appeal and rules in its favor, the border could be reopened until a decision in reached in Judge Cebull's hearing. Also, the National Meat Association has received intervenor status in both the original case and in USDA's appeal.
The court's decision on granting or denying a hearing on that appeal was expected at press time.
