[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 140 (Friday, October 28, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12050-S12051]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JAPAN BEEF TRADE
Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President I have joined with my colleague from North
Dakota, Senator Conrad, and 19 other Senators to introduce a bill to
restore normal beef trade with Japan.
Prior to the discovery of BSE or mad cow disease in the United States
in December 2003, Japan was the largest export market for American beef
in the world. But since that fateful day 2 years ago, U.S. beef
producers have been locked out of the Japanese market.
To say the loss of this market has been detrimental to the viability
of the American beef industry is an understatement. This is an issue
that effects every part of the U.S. beef industry from the cowboys in
western Kansas to the folks standing in line at the grocery store
shopping for hamburger patties in New York City.
And perhaps this is felt no where as strongly than in places like
Dodge City, KS Dodge City is a town that has built it's economy on the
beef industry since the days of the wild west. It is a place where the
number of cattle far outnumbers the number of people that live within
the county lines. And it is the place that I call home.
The beef industry is a major economic driver for Dodge, but it's one
of the largest industries in Kansas--representing over $5 billion in
annual revenue.
We are a state with 6.65 million head of cattle, compared to a human
population of 2.6 million. In 2003, cattle represented 62 percent of
the Kansas cultural cash receipts and the processing industry alone
employs over 18,700 Kansans. And to boot, we rank in the top three of
virtually every major beef statistic.
But, trade with Japan has an impact that extends well beyond the
borders of Kansas--it's an issue that affects all of farm country. The
cattle industry comprises one of the largest sectors in American
agriculture--with business in every state. Japan is the largest export
market for food and agricultural products from the United States and
beef is one of the largest and most lucrative exports to Japan.
In short, for ranchers across farm country, including those in
Kansas, there are few issues more important than the viability of the
beef industry--and specifically how we handle BSE.
This week marks the year anniversary of the mutual agreement the U.S.
and Japan signed to resume normal beef trade. Since then, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, USDA, has worked hard to implement
substantive improvements in our ability to prevent, identify and
respond to BSE. For instance, as a part of their enhanced animal
surveillance effort, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service,
APHIS, has tested over 450,000 head of cattle for BSE.
Despite this increased testing, Japan refuses to reopen its market
and has instead relied upon imports of beef from countries with little
or no testing for BSE.
The increased U.S. testing, in coordination with the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration implementation of safeguards that ensure the safety
of our food supply, have bolstered our claim to having the safest and
most abundant food supply in the world.
Regrettably, the Japanese has failed to match these standards with
prudent efforts to change their policy of keeping American beef out of
Japan.
The Japanese Food Safety Commission, the body with the delegated
responsibility to review the process by which Japan would reopen its
market, and others within the government have been unresponsive to
extensive diplomatic efforts made by U.S. officials during the last
year.
The office of the U.S. Trade Representative and USDA have worked in
concert with President Bush, other
[[Page S12051]]
cabinet agencies and officials and U.S. Congress to restore regular
beef trade.
Despite the efforts of even the highest office in our nation's
government, Japan continues to keep American beef out of their country.
The Japanese Food Safety Commission and others within the government
have repeatedly demanded excessive documentation and paperwork with
little or no justification. None of these requests reflect the
internationally accepted phytosanitary guidelines. Rather, they appear
to be a dilatory tool to prevent any effort to resume the purchase of
American beef.
There have been claims that American beef is unsafe. This is simply
not true. The international science says our cattle under 30 months of
age are safe and not at risk. Yet, we have agreed to not send meat from
any animals under 20 months of age to Japan.
Furthermore, after 20 confirmed cases of BSE in Japan, the claim that
U.S. beef is not as safe as Japanese beef is simply an insult to
American producers. Still the market remains closed to the U.S.
In recent weeks, Japan has insisted upon an unwarranted and
unjustified trade barrier by preventing the resumption of regular beef
trade with the U.S. Japan has a complicated bureaucracy in place to
deal with the issue of BSE. In 2003, the Japanese Parliament
established the Food Safety Commission as a Cabinet Office tasked with
ensuring food safety.
This week, the Japanese Food Safety Commission again failed to reach
an agreement to remove the blockade to U.S. beef imports. And to insult
to injury, four of the Commission's 12 members did not even show up to
the meeting because of their alleged concern with the safety of U.S.
beef.
I am troubled that our negotiations with Japan have deteriorated to
this point. Japan has traditionally been a distinguished and important
trading partner for the U.S. Furthermore, they have been a critical
ally in the War on terrorism.
Despite, this long-standing relationship, I am here today to support
legislation that requires the U.S. Department of Treasury to implement
additional tariffs on goods grown, produced or manufactured in Japan
unless the U.S. Trade Representative certifies that Japan has reopened
its market to American beef by December 15, 2005.
I have long supported free trade. Our country has benefitted from
trade agreements with Chile, Australia, Canada and Mexico, and now
Central America. These trading relationships are a necessity to ensure
the ability of American farmers, ranchers and businessmen alike to
compete in the global marketplace.
But, these agreements hinge heavily upon the commitment of the
participating countries to uphold the principles of free trade--and for
agriculture trade that means abiding by the international science
standards that set important standards for animal, plant and human
safety.
Prior to the discovery of a case of native-born BSE in a cow that
never entered the food supply, we enjoyed this kind of trading
relationship with Japan. However, Japan has chosen to ignore
internationally recognized science and has instead based their food
safety on emotional, politically-driven arguments. And, this comes at a
high price for the American beef industry.
Since December 2003, the U.S. beef industry has experienced roughly
$6 billion in cumulative economic losses--in current annual economic
trade terms, this is about $3.1 billion a year.
We've been patient, but with this kind of economic loss, the American
beef industry cannot afford to wait any longer.
I will not stand idly by while politics and posturing drive our trade
relationships.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation to send a message in
the strongest way possible, that free trade is a two-way street. More
importantly, in the context of the pending negotiations in the Doha
Round of the World Trade Organization, I urge my colleagues to support
this bill because it sends the message to American producers that we
will stand up for American agriculture in our trade negotiations.
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