[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 87 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 87

  Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the resumption of beef 
                           exports to Japan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 17, 2005

Mr. Thune (for himself, Mr. Craig, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Bond, Mr. Domenici, 
   Mr. Talent, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Roberts) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                               on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the resumption of beef 
                           exports to Japan.

Whereas the livestock industry in the United States, including farmers, 
        ranchers, processors, and retailers, is a vital component of rural 
        communities and the entire United States economy;
Whereas United States producers take pride in delivering an abundant and safe 
        food supply to our Nation and to the world;
Whereas Japan has prohibited imports of beef from the United States since 
        December 2003, when a single case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy 
        (BSE) was found in a Canadian-born animal in Washington State;
Whereas the United States agriculture industry as a whole has been negatively 
        affected by the Japanese ban and the loss of a $1,700,000,000 export 
        market to Japan;
Whereas the United States has undertaken a rigorous and thorough surveillance 
        program and has exceeded internationally recognized standards of the 
        World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) for BSE testing and has 
        implemented safeguards to protect human and animal health;
Whereas Japan is a member of the OIE and has agreed to such standards;
Whereas the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
        of the World Trade Organization (WTO) calls for WTO members to apply 
        sanitary and phytosanitary measures only to the extent necessary to 
        protect human, animal, and plant health, based on scientific principles;
Whereas the United States and Japan concluded an understanding on October 23, 
        2004, that established a process that would lead to the resumption of 
        imports of beef from the United States, yet such imports have not 
        resumed;
Whereas despite the best efforts of officials within the United States 
        Department of State, the United States Department of Agriculture, and 
        the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the Government of 
        Japan continues to delay imports of beef from the United States on the 
        basis of factors not grounded in sound science and consumer safety;
Whereas the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
        does not provide to WTO members the right to discriminate and restrict 
        trade arbitrarily; and
Whereas Japan has been provided a reasonable timeframe to establish appropriate 
        trade requirements and resume beef trade with the United States, and the 
        Government of Japan is putting a long and profound bilateral trading 
        history at risk: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that if the Government 
of Japan continues to delay meeting its obligations to resume beef 
imports from the United States under the understanding reached with the 
United States on October 23, 2004, the United States Trade 
Representative should immediately impose retaliatory economic measures 
against Japan.
                                 <all>