Asia Pacific | UPDATE 1-Japan, Mexico set to reach free trade deal -mediaTOKY...

Asia Pacific

UPDATE 1-Japan, Mexico set to reach free trade deal -media
TOKYO, March 12 (Reuters) - Japan and Mexico were set to reach a final deal on a free trade agreement (FTA) on Friday, Japanese media said, a move that could boost Tokyo's efforts to catch up with China by forging similar deals with Asian partners.

Meat Spending Jumps
Red meat expenditures in Australia increase by $420 million in one year.

USA

Congressman asks that private clinic be included in BSE testing increase
A Wisconsin Congressman has sent a letter to the Agriculture Department jockeying for a private laboratory in his district be considered as a testing site for bovine spongiform encephalopathy if the department expands its testing requirements.

Trade deficit widens, partly due to BSE
The U.S. trade deficit hit a record monthly high in January, buoyed partly by the import ban of U.S. beef by more than 40 countries in the wake of the Dec. 23 announcement of a single cow in Washington state found to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

FDA ban on cow's blood could hurt Ames firm
New scientific evidence forced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to propose a ban on the use of cow's blood as a milk substitute for calves, the agency's top official said Thursday.

Asia Pacific

UPDATE 1-Japan, Mexico set to reach free trade deal -media
TOKYO, March 12 (Reuters) - Japan and Mexico were set to reach a final deal on a free trade agreement (FTA) on Friday, Japanese media said, a move that could boost Tokyo's efforts to catch up with China by forging similar deals with Asian partners.

Meat Spending Jumps
Red meat expenditures in Australia increase by $420 million in one year.

USA

Congressman asks that private clinic be included in BSE testing increase
A Wisconsin Congressman has sent a letter to the Agriculture Department jockeying for a private laboratory in his district be considered as a testing site for bovine spongiform encephalopathy if the department expands its testing requirements.

Trade deficit widens, partly due to BSE
The U.S. trade deficit hit a record monthly high in January, buoyed partly by the import ban of U.S. beef by more than 40 countries in the wake of the Dec. 23 announcement of a single cow in Washington state found to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

FDA ban on cow's blood could hurt Ames firm
New scientific evidence forced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to propose a ban on the use of cow's blood as a milk substitute for calves, the agency's top official said Thursday.