Agricultural News
Vilsack Says Japanese Agree Reluctantly to Talk About US Beef Access
Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:57:04 CDT
Colleague Stewart Doan of Agri-Pulse.Com is in Japan this week, following the activities of USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, who met on Thursday morning, Tokyo time, with Japanese Ag Minister Akamatsu. After the closed door meeting, Doan talked with Secretary Vilsack about that meeting and you can hear that Q&A between Vilsack and Stewart Doan by clicking in the listen bar below.
The Secretary indicated that it's an acomplishment to get the Japanese to even agree to actively talk about getting a solution to more US beef access into Japan. He says he will return to the US and talk with USTR Ambassador Ron Kirk about a team to work directly with the Japanese to bring the two sides closer together and hopefully, get both sides on the same track.
Right after the meeting between Vilsack and Akamatsu- the USDA issued the following statment attributed to Secretary Vilsack:
"Today, Minister Akamatsu and I had the opportunity to discuss many aspects of the U.S. Japan bilateral trading relationship in agriculture. Among other topics, we addressed the issue of Japan's import conditions for U.S. beef and beef products. The discussion was a useful exchange of respective views. Given the importance of a candid exchange of views regarding import conditions for U.S. beef and beef products based on science and international standards, we both underscored the commitment of our respective governments to continue discussions. The Minister and I share the view that U.S. and Japanese officials will continue the dialogue through a series of senior and working level meetings in order to establish a mutually agreeable framework for the import conditions for U.S. beef and beef products. This issue remains a high priority for the United States and the U.S. objective remains a framework that is consistent with science and international standards. Minister Akamatsu and I concluded our meeting by confirming that the U.S. - Japan bilateral relationship in agriculture is a strong and positive one and vowed to continue in this direction."
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