Washington, DC  -  Congressman Mike Rogers joined Agriculture Committee chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) in a meeting yesterday to express his growing frustration with Japan’s unnecessary trade restrictions on American beef.

The meeting, which took place in Washington with Japanese Ambassador Ryozo Kato and other members of the Agriculture Committee, highlighted the ongoing tensions between the United States and Japan over the issue of food safety. The Japanese have blocked imports of American beef since the discovery of BSE, or Mad Cow Disease, in one imported Canadian cow in 2003.

“This is yet another case of one country not playing by the rules,” Rogers said. “The question isn’t whether our beef is safe to eat, but whether Japan will stop unfairly closing its borders to American exports.”

Japan is one of the world’s largest consumers of beef, and had agreed to resume importing American beef as of last October. But since that time, Rogers said, the Japanese have done little to re-open their markets to American beef exports and in the process have continued to slow efforts of Alabama farmers to help satisfy that nation’s strong appetite for beef.

“Japan needs to keep its promise and open its borders to our beef,” Rogers added. “Alabama farmers want a chance to complete fairly in Japan, but they can’t if the Japanese won’t let us in.”
 In 2003 American farmers exported more than $1 billion in beef to Japan. Rogers is a member of the House Committee on Agriculture and its Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture.