Asia Pacific | JAPAN: Two former Nippon Food managers arrested on suspicion o...
Asia Pacific
JAPAN: Two former Nippon Food managers arrested on suspicion of fraud
Two former officials of Nippon Food, a subsidiary of Nippon Meat Packers, have been arrested on suspicion of defrauding the government through a beef mislabelling scam.
Free Trade Report
New report shows $850M free trade gain for Australian beef producers.
US sees completed Australia trade pact in '04
A top U.S. trade official Tuesday outlined an ambitious timetable for finishing negotiations on a free trade deal with Australia next year, ignoring the advice of U.S. agricultural groups that oppose the pact without a broader international agreement.
USA
Appeals court hears checkoff arguments
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Paul, Minn., heard arguments regarding the beef checkoff program's constitutionality on Monday. An attorney for the Nebraska Cattlemen, which was an intervener in the case, argued that the First Amendment does not come into play on the program's constitutionality. The generic beef promotion by the Cattlemen's Beef Board in this case represents government messages, and producers who object to it therefore have no First Amendment complaint, just as pacifists have no First Amendment complaint when the government urges people to consider a career in the military. The Nebraska Cattlemen attorney and one from the U.S. Department of Justice, representing the Cattlemen's Beef Board, made the arguments appealing the June 2002 decision by Judge Charles Kornmann, which called the checkoff "unconstitutional and unenforceable." Since that decision, two other district courts — in Montana and the District of Columbia — have ruled that promotion programs such as the beef checkoff constitute government speech. The twists and turns of this case will likely continue for another year or two before it lands in the U. S. Supreme Court. Stay tuned. -- Greg Henderson, Drovers Editor.
NCBA working to protect beef exports to Japan
The good news is that Japanese beef demand has rebounded from severe declines after the 2001 BSE scare. The bad news is that a "snapback" provision in Japanese trade law could limit how well the US beef industry can capitalize on that demand. Chandler Keys, vice-president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, is in Tokyo this week to discuss the issue with Japanese government officials. The provision is intended to limit the growth of imports and triggers higher tariffs when beef imports during a quarter grow more than 17 percent compared with the same quarter during the previous year. The problem is that beef imports dropped to such a low volume during 2001 that a return to more normal levels this year would trigger the provision. Americans spent money helping educate Japanese consumers about BSE and about the safety of US beef. The Japanese should now remove the "snapback" rule that penalizes the US for helping restore Japanese confidence in beef. -- G.H.
2003 World Pork Expo set for June in Des Moines
The World Pork Expo, the largest pork exhibition in the world, will be held June 5 to 7 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, according to the National Pork Producers Council.
Positive on Pork
US Pork checkoff research finds consumers have more favorable view of pork industry than expected.