US calls on Asian countries to lift bans on US beef

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday called on several Asian countries including Taiwan to lift their bans on beef imports from the US, after South Korea agreed to partially re-open its market to US beef.

The agreement will allow the US to export boneless beef from cattle less than 30 months of age to South Korea. The progress came in the wake of similar steps taken by Japan and Hong Kong.

"As we continue discussions with Korea, I urge Thailand, China, Taiwan, Singapore and others to comply with science-based international guidelines and reopen their markets to US beef," said Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns.

More than 40 countries including Taiwan banned beef imports from the US in December 2003 after the discovery in Washington State of a single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease.

In April last year, Taiwan lifted the ban on US boneless beef from animals under 30 months of age, but again suspended US beef imports on June 25 that same year after a second case of mad cow disease was confirmed in the US earlier that month.

Taiwan's Legislative Yuan adopted on Thursday a non-binding resolution setting the conditions under which the import of US beef could be resumed.

These conditions include that the government should draw up a consumer-protection plan, that the US should provide biodata for its food exports and that the government should send officials to the US to monitor US management of cattle for export to ensure that beef from the US is absolutely safe and that no new cases of mad cow disease have appeared since June last year.

Taiwan annually imported some US$325 million of US beef products, making it the sixth largest market for the US before the ban was imposed. Japan and South Korea were the largest and third-largest markets, respectively.

So far, the US has recovered access to foreign markets valued at more than US$3.2 billion, or 82 percent of the 2003 export value for US beef of US$3.9 billion, according to tallies from the USDA.

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