03/22/05 Japan gives Rice no deadline on beef

American Rancher March 22, 2005 During her visit to Japan this past weekend U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made it clear that the issue of U.S. beef shipments is quickly becoming a painful thorn in the side of U.S.-Japan relations. Rice said the time has come to solve the problem. But Japanese officials would not give Rice a deadline for lifting the ban imposed after BSE was found in a U.S. cow of Canadian origin.. Meanwhile, Jim Wiesemeyer, Vice President of Farm and Trade Policy with Informa Economics, says the wrangling over the re-opening of the Canadian border to live cattle imports is having an affect on getting Japan to reopen to U.S. beef. Wiesemeyer recently met with Japanese officials. Wiesemeyer: "The Japanese officials said that it would delay the reopening of the Japanese border. It stimulated the Japanese media and the Japanese consumer associations to begin an opposition campaign and they said that would only delay the internal Japanese process, notably what they call the risk communication process for consumers." Wiesemeyer says he was told it would be July or August before Japan makes a decision on U.S. beef but that is assuming no more litigation delays in the U.S. or Canada. R-CALF USA president Leo McDonnell, says lowering U.S. standards by allowing more Canadian cattle into the United States will not convince Japan to open its market to U.S. beef. I'm Bob Hoff.