Bush Presses Japanese Leader Over Beef Trade
US - President George W. Bush pressed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday over a beef trade standoff, telling the leader in an official visit that Japanese consumers should be eating U.S. beef.
30 April 2007
1 minute read
"I brought up to the prime minister that I'm absolutely convinced the Japanese people will be better off when they eat American beef," Bush told a news conference while standing alongside the Japanese leader. "It's good beef; it's healthy beef. As a matter of fact, I'm going to feed the prime minister's delegation a good hamburger for lunch," he said.
According to Reuters, U.S. officials have been pushing Japan to loosen its import rules on beef, hoping to rebuild a robust trade with the Asian nation. They want to see Japan accept meat from older animals and also seek an end to mandatory inspections of each box of beef.
Currently, Japan accepts U.S. meat from animals 20 months or younger, but exporters would like to see meat shipped from animals up to 30 months old. They would also like to see a full range of beef exports -- boneless and bone-in.
