Japan Gives No Timetable on Ending US Beef Ban
TOKYO - Japan declined to give the United States a timetable for ending its costly ban on imports of US beef, saying on Saturday that while it understood US concerns, more time was needed. US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, in Tokyo as part of an Asian tour, pressed Japan to lift its ban on imports of US beef imposed in late 2003 after the United States reported its first case of mad cow disease. The trade was worth more than $1 billion a year. Japan agreed in October to allow shipments of beef from young US cattle once technical details were worked out. But some US lawmakers say Japan is now dragging its feet and have suggested retaliatory economic sanctions.Source: PlanetArk
21 March 2005
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