Japan Resumes U.S. Beef Imports

Elena
21 Jun, 2006
New York City

Japan agreed to resume U.S. beef imports on the condition that no further problems during onsite inspections would occur. Officials from Japan''s health and agriculture ministries will inspect 35 meatpacking plants certified to ship beef to Japan to see if they are complying with export requirements.

[R]Japan lifted its ban on U.S. beef meat import.[/R]
Japan, which had imposed a ban on U.S. beef meat over concerns about mad cow disease, agreed Wednesday to lift its ban on U.S. beef imports. The decision came as a result of long-running trade dispute between the two countries, giving U.S. ranchers access to their most lucrative export market. Japan''s market was worth $1.4 billion annually when it banned American beef in response to the first U.S. case of mad cow disease in 2003. American officials had been impatient for trade to resume, with several U.S. senators saying Tuesday they are introducing a bill that would impose trade sanctions if Japan does not reopen its market to U.S. beef by Aug. 31.

Japan agreed to resume U.S. beef imports on the condition that no further problems during onsite inspections would occur. American beef shipments to Japan were halted in January after Japanese officials found a veal shipment that contained backbone, which according to the strict Japanese rules is considered risk for mad cow disease.

Officials from Japan''s health and agriculture ministries will inspect 35 meatpacking plants certified to ship beef to Japan to see if they are complying with export requirements. Only facilities whose safeguards meet Japanese standards will be authorized to export to Japan.


[R]7:15AM Japanese stocks fall on business sentiment, HK moves slightly up.[/R]
Asian markets ended mixed. The Nikkei 225 closed virtually flat, advancing 0.03% to close the day at 14,644.26. Among leading exporters, Sony Corp. shed 1.45%, while Toyota Motor declined 0.35%. Japanese miners and steelmakers advanced early on China''s iron price concession, but later gave back their profits. Sumitomo Metal Industries ended down 0.91% while Nippon Steel finished flat. Hong Kong''s Hang Seng Index ended the day 0.32% higher to 15,659.36. The China Enterprises Index of shares in mainland companies edged up 1.25% on strength in commodities and telecoms. China Unicom advanced 2.24% on news that South Korea''s SK Telecom intended to buy up to $1 billion of its convertible bonds. Shares of telecom firm PCCW Ltd were suspended due to reports of a brewing bidding war for Hong Kong''s leading fixed-line operator between Australia''s Macquarie Bank and U.S. private-equity company Texas Pacific Group. South Korea''s Kospi advanced 0.11%. Taiwan''s Weighted lost 1.01% and closed at a six-month low as the country''s political opposition made an effort to recall the scandal-plagued president. Australia''s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.18%. Miners gained on news that Chinese steelmakers had accepted a 19% hike in iron ore prices after months of deadlocked negotiations.


[R]6:15AM European stocks decline in mid-morning trade.[/R]
European markets traded lower in mid-morning. The U.K. FTSE 100 index lost 0.3% at 5,642, the German DAX Xetra 30 index shed 0.5% at 5,467, while the French CAC-40 index lost 0.5% at 4,747. Early attention focused on Ahold, the Dutch retailor, reporting better than expected quarterly results. However, there were no details about the strategic future of the company or possible restructuring. Ahold’s stock lost 0.5%. Philips added 2.2% in Amsterdam following reports that is preparing to list its chips division during the second half of the year. Stocks in steelmakers Arcelor and Mittal Steel both advanced on Wednesday after Severstal announced late Tuesday that it was willing to cut his proposed stake buy of Arcelor to 25% from 32%, and won''t take his stake above 33% without a full tender offer. Swedish clothing chain Hennes & Mauritz advanced 3.5%, following reports that its second-quarter pretax profit advanced 8.2%.

Light sweet crude oil for August delivery dropped 18 cents to $69.16 a barrel In London, August Brent crude futures on the ICE Futures exchange shed 17 cents to $67.91 a barrel. The euro strengthened Wednesday against the U.S. dollar. European 12-nation currency purchase $1.2615 on Wednesday, up from $1.2584 in New York overnight. The British pound also advanced on the dollar, up to $1.8454 from US$1.8425 on Tuesday. The dollar fell against the yen, down to 114.73 from 114.85 in New York late Tuesday.