Washington – Angry with Japan for refusing to lift a mad- cow-related ban on U.S. beef, senators retaliated Tuesday by voting to retain a ban on Japanese beef.
Once the biggest customer of American beef, importing more than $1.5 billion’s worth in 2003, Japan has refused to allow the purchase of U.S. beef since the nation’s first case of mad cow disease was confirmed in Washington state almost two years ago.
Last fall, Japan agreed to lift the ban but still hasn’t done so.
In June, U.S. authorities confirmed a second domestic case in a Texas-born cow. Japan has found 20 cases of mad cow disease. Nevertheless, U.S. regulators proposed last month to partly lift the ban on Japanese beef.
Japan’s stalling is “just unfair,” said Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., in a Senate speech. “There have been two cases of mad cow disease in the United States, one from Canada. Statistically, it’s nonexistent, in terms of the millions of head of cattle that are sent to slaughter every year.”
Senators adopted, on a 72-26 vote, an amendment by Nelson prohibiting importation of Japanese beef until Japan lifts its ban.
They adopted a similar, nonbinding measure by Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., on a voice vote.
Opponents said trade decisions about food safety should be based on science, not on restrictions in other countries.
Japan’s food safety panel issued a draft report last week saying U.S. cows faced higher risk of exposure than Japanese cows because of insufficient feed controls in the 1980s and 1990s.
