Agricultural News
Secretary Vilsack Heading to Japan and Saying Incremental Widening of the Japan Market for US Beef is Okay.
Wed, 31 Mar 2010 5:39:42 CDT
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters in a media briefing Tuesday that he will not demand that Japan fully reopen its market to U.S. beef products as the Obama administration will take an approach of incremental widening of US beef access being acceptable, in contrast to the previous administration's hard line of "all or nothing."
Vilsack said expansion of U.S. beef access to Japan is an important part of the Obama Administration plan to double US exports in general over the next five years. Beef will be a major topic of discussion that he will have with Japanese officials next week as he makes several stops within that country.
The George W Bush administration at one point rejected Japan's proposal to allow imports of U.S. beef from cattle 30 months of age or younger, instead demanding full market access. Japan's limit currently stands at 20 months or younger. It has been that way for over five years in the aftermath of the Japanese reacting to the discovery of a Canadian cow with BSE in this country back in December 2003.
Asked whether Washington's new approach would be to seek a 30-month limit as a gradual step toward full reopening, Vilsack said only that the United States ultimately seeks a protocol that is compliant with OIE guidelines. The international body says U.S. beef is safe regardless of cattle age.
He also spoke of the need to provide the Japanese consumer with the choice of US beef- and that he believes that we can compete for and gain additional market share if given the opportunity.
We have comments from Secretary Vilsack from his media briefing of Tuesday on today's Beef Buzz. Leading up to this trip, you might remember that we had reaction from Secretary Vilsack that offered a bit of sarcasm in response to comments made by now Senator Mike Johanns(former USDA Secretary) about the lack of action to this point by the Obama Administration in dealing with Japan- click here for an earlier Beef Buzz where Secretary Vilsack got a little testy on the subject.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the state on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the listen bar below for today's show- and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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