Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
I am pleased that you will be visiting the United States in June. I have worked hard for many years to strengthen the relationship between our two countries and hope that your visit to this country will be a productive one.
As a longtime friend of Japan, I write to alert you to an issue of serious concern - one that threatens to undermine seriously our economic ties. Japan’s continued refusal to resume imports of beef from the United States has become a significant irritant in our trade relationship.
As Senator from Montana, a major beef producing state, I have a particular interest in this matter. I personally visited Japan in 2004 to meet with your trade and agriculture ministers. I hosted a delegation of senior Japanese officials in Montana. And I submitted comments in Japanese to the Japanese Food Safety Commission (FSC) during its four-week public consultation period last December.
The scientific evidence is absolutely clear: U.S. beef is safe. As all of Japan’s food safety and animal health concerns have been addressed, many Americans are beginning to conclude that other motivations lie behind the continuation of the ban. Pressure, therefore, is building for the U.S. government to step up action to address this matter - in the World Trade Organization or otherwise.
A delegation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is meeting with Japanese officials in Tokyo this week. It is critical to our bilateral relationship that these discussions produce good results and demonstrate clear progress toward the quick resumption of imports of U.S. beef.
Thank you for your attention to this very important matter. I look forward to your visit to the United States next month and to the resumption of trade in high quality beef from the United States, particularly from Montana.
Respectfully yours,
Max Baucus
cc: Ambassador Ryozo Kato
