Japan Plans to Relax U.S. Beef Import Restrictions (Update1)

By Takashi Hirokawa and Sachiko Sakamaki

Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Japan plans to relax restrictions on U.S. beef, allowing imports of meat from cows up to 30 months old, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura today.

The government must obtain an agreement from the U.S. on the plan before putting it before Japan's food safety commission for approval, Machimura said at a press conference.

``Our government has been trying to propose raising the 20-month limit to 30 months,'' he said. ``But we haven't finished coordination with the U.S.''

Japan was the largest buyer of U.S. beef before the first U.S. case of mad-cow disease was found in 2003. After a lengthy ban on all U.S. beef, Japan now imports meat from animals 20 month old or younger, which have a lower risk of disease, according to scientists.

Earlier in the day, Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Mark Keenum said the U.S. won't accept a plan that raises the age of cattle imports.

``Our hope is that we will persuade Japan to adhere to the WTO international standards for beef,'' Keenum said in an interview in Tokyo.

The World Organization for Animal Health, also known as OIE, voted in May to give the U.S. its ``controlled-risk'' rating for mad-cow disease. The designation means controls are effective, and meat from U.S. cattle of any age can be safely traded. The OIE standards are used to settle trade disputes at the World Trade Organization.

Consumption of meat from cattle with mad-cow disease, scientifically known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is believed to be related to a fatal disease in humans.

The U.S. is asking all its trading partners to adhere to OIE standards, Keenum said, adding that the Philippines is the only importer in Asia to have done so.

Japan imported about 30,000 tons of beef from the U.S. in the first nine months of this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

To contact the reporters on this story: Takashi Hirokawa in Tokyo at thirokawa@bloomberg.net; Sachiko Sakamaki in Tokyo at ssakamaki@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 7, 2007 05:13 EST

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