The United States and Japanese governments announced over the weekend that they had reached an agreement to allow limited importation of American beef into Japan, according to a report this morning in the Wall Street Journal.
However, a complete revocation of the ban isn’t expected until next year.
The ban initially was put in place after a single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), better known as mad cow disease, was found in the US. Japan had cut off US imports because American testing standards are not as strict as Japan’s, though now it reportedly will allow the shipment of beef from U.S. cattle with birth records proving they were younger than 21 months old when slaughtered.
However, a complete revocation of the ban isn’t expected until next year.
The ban initially was put in place after a single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), better known as mad cow disease, was found in the US. Japan had cut off US imports because American testing standards are not as strict as Japan’s, though now it reportedly will allow the shipment of beef from U.S. cattle with birth records proving they were younger than 21 months old when slaughtered.
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