06/01/06 Korea ends ban, Japan hasn`t yet

South Korea will allow the import of US beef beginning next week. The third largest importer of American beef will only allow cattle less than 30 months of age and parts regarded as risky, like ribs, have to be removed. Korea and Japan banned US imports in January and two large markets were lost. Japan hasn't reopened its borders to beef imports and some US Senators are banging the table demanding that it happen. Pat Roberts of Kansas and some of his colleagues on the Senate Ag Committee told the Japanese ambassador that there's no reason for the ban to continue. ROBERTS "If Japan chooses to continue this policy of politics over science we will have no choice but to introduce new Japanese tariff legislation. Embargoes can work both ways. We don't have to go down that road." That's something that Idaho's Larry Craig hopes can be avoided. Craig says negotiation is better than retaliation. CRAIG "Usually retaliation begets retaliation and in agriculture today we need to go after and hold onto every foreign market we can keep our hands on." Australia has moved into both the Korean and Japanese markets in the past two years and grabbed the largest share of those markets in the absence of US beef. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott