TOKYO, Aug 13, 2004 (Kyodo via COMTEX) -- Japan on Friday expressed readiness to apply to Canadian beef the same trade terms as those it will apply to U.S. beef once a row with Washington over Tokyo's testing requirements for mad cow disease is settled, Japanese trade negotiation sources said.
The intention was expressed at a Japan-Canada experts' meeting in Tokyo on the matter, held Thursday and Friday, the sources said.
Japan banned imports of Canadian and U.S. beef after cases of the brain-wasting disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, were found in Canada in May and in the United States in December in 2003.
As a prerequisite to dropping the ban, Tokyo has demanded that Washington test all slaughtered cattle for the disease or take measures capable of providing safety assurances equivalent to tests of all cattle. Washington says blanket testing is unscientific.
During the two-day Tokyo forum, the experts from Japan and Canada agreed that the cattle industries in Canada and the United States have the same safety conditions because cattle and animal feeds are frequently traded across the border, the sources said.
One of them said, "It is unlikely that Japan's beef trade disputes with the United States and Canada will be settled under different terms."
During the meeting, the Japanese delegation briefed the Canadian side on arguments under way at the Japanese Cabinet Office's Food Safety Commission as well as the current state of discussions with the United States over the beef trade fray.
The Canadian side briefed the Japanese side on enhanced safety measures it has taken, such as an increase in the number of cows that must be subject to a mad cow-detection examination, according to the sources.
In January, Japan and Canada agreed to convene expert-level meetings to devise measures to open the way for resuming beef trade.
But they have not disclosed the venues and timing of bilateral discussions in order to prevent the talks from being tarnished by "political considerations" with respect to their domestic constituencies, the sources said.
The secrecy surrounding the talks is also designed to ensure a scientific approach to solve the dispute, they said.
Meanwhile, Japan's farm minister Yoshiyuki Kamei is considering flying to Australia and New Zealand later this month to discuss beef trade, government sources said.
On Tuesday, Kamei told reporters beef trade talks with the United States may take much more time to conclude.
Last week, the Food Safety Commission endorsed a report that says the risk of mad cow disease affecting humans does not increase even if "young cows" are excluded from testing. But the panel has yet to specify an age below which such cows can be excluded from testing without threatening humans' health.
Some food experts argue there is no rationale for blanket testing, saying the disease is undetectable in cattle younger than 30 months due to its incubation time. Others disagree, citing cases of the disease having been found in cattle aged 20 months and younger.
Now, what I am thinking is this.
We do need more export customers besides the United States, but first we have to survive the next year or two while that happens. Therefore, for the short term, we need an open border with the U.S.
Why is the border not open now? We have no leverage. How do we get leverage? By acting like Americans.
We know the last thing in the world the Americans want is to test for export to Japan. They would rather strongarm the Japanese into accepting the beef on U.S. terms.
Now we need to take a page from their book. We go to the ongoing negotiations with the Americans. We say, "Sorry guys, but we're losing our cattle industry in this country, and have to act to save it. We really don't want to do this, but by keeping the border closed you are forcing us to consider testing Canadian beef for export. If we don't get access to the market in your country that was part of the NAFTA agreement, then we will have to test in order to save our farmers and ranchers."
Now the ball is in the American court. They can start living up to their trade agreements with us, or they can lose the Japanese market to us, or be forced to test their own cattle, or both.
We HAVE the leverage. We're just too darn polite to use it.
The intention was expressed at a Japan-Canada experts' meeting in Tokyo on the matter, held Thursday and Friday, the sources said.
Japan banned imports of Canadian and U.S. beef after cases of the brain-wasting disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, were found in Canada in May and in the United States in December in 2003.
As a prerequisite to dropping the ban, Tokyo has demanded that Washington test all slaughtered cattle for the disease or take measures capable of providing safety assurances equivalent to tests of all cattle. Washington says blanket testing is unscientific.
During the two-day Tokyo forum, the experts from Japan and Canada agreed that the cattle industries in Canada and the United States have the same safety conditions because cattle and animal feeds are frequently traded across the border, the sources said.
One of them said, "It is unlikely that Japan's beef trade disputes with the United States and Canada will be settled under different terms."
During the meeting, the Japanese delegation briefed the Canadian side on arguments under way at the Japanese Cabinet Office's Food Safety Commission as well as the current state of discussions with the United States over the beef trade fray.
The Canadian side briefed the Japanese side on enhanced safety measures it has taken, such as an increase in the number of cows that must be subject to a mad cow-detection examination, according to the sources.
In January, Japan and Canada agreed to convene expert-level meetings to devise measures to open the way for resuming beef trade.
But they have not disclosed the venues and timing of bilateral discussions in order to prevent the talks from being tarnished by "political considerations" with respect to their domestic constituencies, the sources said.
The secrecy surrounding the talks is also designed to ensure a scientific approach to solve the dispute, they said.
Meanwhile, Japan's farm minister Yoshiyuki Kamei is considering flying to Australia and New Zealand later this month to discuss beef trade, government sources said.
On Tuesday, Kamei told reporters beef trade talks with the United States may take much more time to conclude.
Last week, the Food Safety Commission endorsed a report that says the risk of mad cow disease affecting humans does not increase even if "young cows" are excluded from testing. But the panel has yet to specify an age below which such cows can be excluded from testing without threatening humans' health.
Some food experts argue there is no rationale for blanket testing, saying the disease is undetectable in cattle younger than 30 months due to its incubation time. Others disagree, citing cases of the disease having been found in cattle aged 20 months and younger.
Now, what I am thinking is this.
We do need more export customers besides the United States, but first we have to survive the next year or two while that happens. Therefore, for the short term, we need an open border with the U.S.
Why is the border not open now? We have no leverage. How do we get leverage? By acting like Americans.
We know the last thing in the world the Americans want is to test for export to Japan. They would rather strongarm the Japanese into accepting the beef on U.S. terms.
Now we need to take a page from their book. We go to the ongoing negotiations with the Americans. We say, "Sorry guys, but we're losing our cattle industry in this country, and have to act to save it. We really don't want to do this, but by keeping the border closed you are forcing us to consider testing Canadian beef for export. If we don't get access to the market in your country that was part of the NAFTA agreement, then we will have to test in order to save our farmers and ranchers."
Now the ball is in the American court. They can start living up to their trade agreements with us, or they can lose the Japanese market to us, or be forced to test their own cattle, or both.
We HAVE the leverage. We're just too darn polite to use it.
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