III 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 87 

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the resumption of beef exports 

to Japan. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 17, 2005 

Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. BOND, Mr. DOMENICI, 

Mr. TALENT, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. BUNNING, Mr. JOHNSON, and Mr. ROBERTS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Finance 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate 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; 

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; 
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•SRES 87 IS

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 Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and 

Phytosanitary Measures of the World Trade Organization 

(WTO) calls for WTO members to apply sanitary and 

phytosanitary 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 continues to delay imports of beef from the United States on 

the basis of factors not grounded in sound science and 

consumer safety; 

Whereas the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and 

Phytosanitary Measures does not provide to WTO mem-
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•SRES 87 IS

bers 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 Senate that if 

2 the Government of Japan continues to delay meeting its 

3 obligations to resume beef imports from the United States 

4 under the understanding reached with the United States 

5 on October 23, 2004, the United States Trade Represent6 ative should immediately impose retaliatory economic 

7 measures against Japan. 

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