[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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