Agricultural News
Could We Finally See an End to the 20 Month Rule on US Beef into Japan?
Fri, 29 Apr 2011 6:15:42 CDT
Could there be movement here in 2011 on the so called "20 month rule" that has meant a significant amount of US beef production has not been eleigible for the Japanese marketplace? Shortly after the discovery of BSE in the United States in December 2003, the Japanese claimed to have two cases of BSE that was found in two animals 22 and 24 months of age. It was on the basis of those cases of alledged BSE that Japan claimed to have had that they imposed a beef on US Beef over 20 months of age. Trade officials from both the Bush Administration and now the Obama Administration have failed to sway the Japanese thinking on this issue, despite the fact that sound science is not on the side of the Japanese.
Now, the Chief Executive Officer and President of the US Meat Export Federation, Phil Seng, expects a breakthrough on this issue, perhaps before the end of June. Seng says once Japanese officials resolve the ongoing nuclear crisis, he expects discussions to resume regarding the country's 20-month rule for U.S. beef. He believes a phased approach such as that in South Korea could apply to Japan, initially easing the standard to beef from cattle 30 months of age or younger.
Seng made these comments to reporters earlier this week during a Beef Checkoff sponsored webinar on the status of Japan as a buyer of US beef in the aftermath of the Japanese disaster that came from a combination of the earthquake, tsunami and now the nuclear emergency. We feature them on today's Beef Buzz.
Click here to listen to the entire Webinar with Phil Seng.
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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