USDA Secretary “Will Not Rest Until Japan Reopens Its Borders To American Beef”...
“I want to guarantee you something: I will not rest until Japan reopens its borders to American beef products,” USDA Secretary Mike Johanns told the USMEF Board of Directors today (May 26). “I know we will be successful in these efforts because I can tell you without any hesitation that our beef is safe.”
In a keynote address to USMEF directors in Washington, D.C., Johanns called for a level playing field based on scientific standards for the U.S. meat industry and its trading partners.
“If we demand a level playing field, we also have to offer one,” Johanns said. “We cannot treat Canada one way and Japan another and expect that will go unnoticed.”
Johanns praised USMEF staff and their efforts to further U.S. exports and open markets:
“The power of partnerships allows us to do so much more. And, USMEF’s worldwide network has formed a bond with American agriculture, companies and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And, it has made a difference – it really has.”
USMEF was instrumental, according to Johanns, in supplying information and working with government officials to help reopen the Taiwan market to U.S. beef a month ago. “If I had no other message today, it would be to personally say ‘thank you’ and congratulate you on that success,” Johanns said.
“Using science-based policies, the United States leads and presses for reestablishment of trade,” said USDA Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services J.B. Penn, who also addressed the USMEF meeting.
Recently, with USMEF’s help, a South Korean consumer group visited the United States to view surveillance procedures, slaughter facilities and feed ban practices. Next week, a Korean technical team will also visit the United States and USMEF will be there each step of the way.
“USDA depends on the leadership, experience and intelligence USMEF provides in foreign markets,” Penn said. “Working with USMEF and its members is a great example of how industry and government can work together to communicate food safety, animal health and technical issues.”
Penn said he was encouraged by the Japanese government asking its Food Safety Commission to deliberate on policies that will allow U.S. beef back into the market. A Japanese technical team also recently visited the United States to observe surveillance procedures and mitigation measures the U.S. beef industry practices to ensure safety of its product.
“Over 362,000 animals have been tested and not a single case of BSE has been found in the United States,” Penn said. “The United States supports the OIE considering changes to reclassify BSE risk based on the measures a country is taking to prevent BSE rather than the number of cases it has had.”
The Office International des Epizooties (OIE) is meeting in Paris this week to reevaluate world standards governing risk classification of countries, which could impact market access for all beef-producing countries. An OIE official told reporters today that boneless beef can be safely exported from countries in all BSE risk categories.
Johanns also called for Congress to approve the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).
“Products from Central and South America are coming into the United States duty free. The United States does not have that same access,” Johanns said. “CAFTA allows for a fair playing field for U.S. producers and processors and would remove the 15 to 30 percent duty currently put on U.S. beef.”
Many opportunities exist in the world marketplace for U.S. red meat. According to Johanns, nothing good comes to U.S. agriculture by stifling trade. Johanns and Penn are both working with USMEF and its members to reopen closed markets, to continue to educate the world on U.S. beef safety and to expand market access for U.S. meat.
The U.S. Meat Export Federation is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn, sorghum and soybean checkoff programs.
– USMEF –