US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has announced that a team of experts on BSE will travel to South Korea and Japan as part of the continuing effort to resume US beef and beef product exports.
"We look forward to these opportunities in South Korea and Japan to further demonstrate the safety of US beef and that our system complies with international science-based guidelines for trade," said Johanns.
The delegation, led by Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Charles Lambert, will review how the country’s BSE prevention programmes ensure the safety of US beef. In addition, members of the delegation will encourage both governments to adopt import regulations that are in closer compliance with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) guidelines.
The team will first travel to South Korea April 19-22 for technical discussions with government officials. From April 25-27, the team will be in Japan for technical discussions and sessions with consumers, scientists, government and business representatives.
Following the delegation's visits, both countries are expected to send technical teams to the United States to review beef production and processing systems as a further step toward resuming imports of US beef.
In 2003, the United States exported approximately $1.4 billion and $815 million of beef and beef products (including variety meats) to Japan and South Korea respectively. Together these markets represented 57 per cent of US beef exports by value.
