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News from Rep. Stephanie Herseth
For Immediate Release
Contact: Russ Levsen, 202-226-4449

JAPAN AGREES TO RESUME US BEEF IMPORTS

June 21, 2006, Washington, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth today issued a statement regarding Japan's agreement to lift its ban on U.S. beef imports pending fulfillment of certain conditions. Japanese audit teams will arrive in the U.S. this weekend to inspect certain American processing plants, and they plan to conclude their work by July 21. Upon completion of the audits, Japan has agreed to expeditiously resume beef trade.

Herseth said, "This is an encouraging and positive development and represents another step towards resuming beef trade with Japan. The United States continues to produce the safest, highest quality beef in the world and I fully expect the Japanese audits to conclude in a timely manner and without incident. Going forward, I am hopeful that we can quickly resume a robust beef trade with Japan that is not disrupted by minor or technical issues."

In January of this year, Japan decided to close its borders to U.S. beef imports based upon a technical violation of the terms of our agreement.

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