IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 137 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 

resumption of beef exports to Japan. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 3, 2005 

Mr. MORAN of Kansas (for himself, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. HAYES, Mr. LUCAS, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. PICKERING, Mrs. MUSGRAVE, Mr. BARROW, Mr. GRAVES, Mr. OSBORNE, Mr. 

KING of Iowa, Mr. TERRY, Mr. REHBERG, Mr. HULSHOF, Mr. WALDEN

of Oregon, Mr. NUSSLE, Mr. PENCE, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. PETERSON of 

Pennsylvania, Mr. EVERETT, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. 

PUTNAM, Mr. CULBERSON, Mr. JENKINS, Mr. GUTKNECHT, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. OTTER, Mr. GOODE, Mr. NEUGEBAUER, Ms. FOXX, Mr. SCOTT

of Georgia, Mr. NUNES, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. 

HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. KENNEDY of 

Minnesota, Miss MCMORRIS, Mr. MCCAUL of Texas, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. TIAHRT, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. 

BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. LATHAM, Mr. 

ROSS, Mr. BERRY, and Mr. COLE of Oklahoma) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives 

regarding the resumption of beef exports to Japan. 

Whereas the livestock industry in the United States, including farmers, ranchers, processors, and retailers, is a vital 

component of rural communities and the entire United 

States economy; 
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•HRES 137 IH 

Whereas United States producers take pride in delivering an 

abundant and safe food supply to our Nation and to the 

world; 

Whereas Japan has prohibited imports of beef from the 

United States since December 2003, when a single case 

of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) was found 

in a Canadian-born animal in Washington State; 

Whereas the United States agriculture industry as a whole 

has been negatively affected by the Japanese ban and the 

loss of a $1,700,000,000 export market to Japan; 

Whereas the United States has undertaken a rigorous and 

thorough surveillance program and has exceeded internationally recognized standards of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) for BSE testing and has 

implemented safeguards to protect human and animal 

health; 

Whereas Japan is a member of the OIE and has agreed to 

such standards; 

Whereas the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement of 

the World Trade Organization (WTO) calls for WTO 

members to apply SPS measures only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal, and plant health, based 

on scientific principles; 

Whereas the United States and Japan concluded an understanding on October 23, 2004, that established a process 

that would lead to the resumption of imports of beef from 

the United States, yet such imports have not resumed; 

Whereas despite the best efforts of officials within the United 

States Department of State, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Office of the United States 

Trade Representative, the Government of Japan con-
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•HRES 137 IH 

tinues to delay imports of beef from the United States on 

the basis of factors not grounded in sound science and 

consumer safety; 

Whereas the SPS Agreement does not provide to WTO members the right to discriminate and restrict trade arbitrarily; and 

Whereas Japan has been provided a reasonable timeframe to 

establish appropriate trade requirements and resume beef 

trade with the United States, and the Government of 

Japan is putting a long and profound bilateral trading 

history at risk: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that if the Government of Japan continues 

3 to delay in meeting its obligations under the under4 standing reached with the United States on October 23, 

5 2004, to resume beef imports from the United States, the 

6 United States Trade Representative should immediately 

7 impose retaliatory economic measures on Japan. 

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