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Japan eases ban on U.S. beef

Hans Greimel Associated Press

TOKYO – Japan agreed today to ease the country’s ban on U.S. and Canadian beef imports, resolving a bitter trans-Pacific trade dispute two years after the first case of mad cow disease was discovered in the U.S. herd.

The easing of the ban would allow meat from cows under 21 months old back into the Japanese market, which before the ban had been the most lucrative overseas market for American beef, buying $1.7 billion worth in 2003.

It was not immediately clear when U.S. meat would again appear in Japanese supermarkets and restaurants, but Kyodo News agency reported that approval could allow North American meat back in Japan by the end of the year.

The decision was formally adopted today by Japan’s agriculture and health ministries, officials said. It follows a recommendation from the country’s Food Safety Commission last week to resume limited imports.

Surveys show Japanese are as leery as ever of U.S. beef and unwilling to buy it, while American ranchers say a series of new safety requirements imposed by Tokyo could keep many producers from tapping the market anyway.

The new rules would allow only meat from cows younger than 21 months, because no cases of mad cow disease have been found in cows that age. Besides requiring U.S. producers to certify the cow’s age, the new rules also demand that U.S. inspectors follow strict guidelines, such as removing dangerous cow material such as brains and spinal cords.

While the United States has had two cases of mad cow disease, Japan has reported 21 since its first in 2001.

Eating beef from cattle infected with mad cow disease can cause a fatal brain disorder in humans.

For U.S. ranchers, selling beef to Japan will generally mean keeping a paper trail from the ranch to the feedlot to the slaughterhouse in order to verify cattle are killed at 20 months of age or younger. But birth records alone will not do, and in many cases, producers will need third-party verification of their documents and herds for corroboration, according to beef experts at Iowa State University.