Standing firm on US beef ban, Tokyo wants a new probe [View All]

[dArKeR]

Japan's agriculture minister yesterday called a US probe into the outbreak of mad cow disease incomplete and said his country would not reconsider a six-week ban on American beef until it receives new proposals from Wash-ington for tighter safeguards.

Japan is pressing the US to test all cattle for the disease before slaughter, a measure implemented by Japan's much smaller beef industry after a mad cow scare here two years ago.

The US says blanket testing is unnecessary and would be pro-hibitively expensive, but a series of US agriculture and trade officials sent to Tokyo to persuade Japan to lift an import ban have come away empty handed.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/worldbiz/archives/2004/02/16/2003099014