Politics involved in beef trade issue with Japan
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Tracy Brunner of Ramona was one of three or four Kansans who recently welcomed a visiting delegation of 11 Japanese officials to Kansas.
Brunner represented the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and Kansas Beef Council.
He said the Japanese came to learn about American beef production and processing.
It is an election year in Japan. The party in power supports trade with the United States, but the opposing party is taking a protectionist stance. They are using the beef issue to try to score political points, he said.
Speaking through an interpreter, the Japanese delegation requested no direct input from American beef representatives. They said they didn't want to be influenced in any way.
Brunner accompanied the group as they toured the Tyson meat-packing plant at Emporia and the Creekstone Farms plant at Arkansas City, where they observed operations and received answers to specific questions.
He learned later that, after returning to Japan, the delegation reported they felt both plants were handling beef perfectly.
Brunner said the face-to-face visit offered a great opportunity to demonstrate the extensive safety measures taken by the U.S. beef industry.
Prior to closing its market to the U.S. in December 2003, Japan was the largest importer of U.S. beef, the value of which reached $1.4 billion in 2003 alone.
Brunner said his message to Japanese officials remains simple: safeguards used in the United States since 2003 prevent the spread of bovine spongeform encephalopathy (a brain-wasting disease), and this rare disease does not present a human health threat or food safety concern.
"The number one priority for America's cattle producers has always been to provide the safest beef in the world because their livelihood depends on it," Brunner said. "I am proud to see the beef I produce served in homes around the world, including my own."
Japan resumed limited imports of U.S. beef in December 2005, but closed the market again in January when several crates of bone-in veal were mistakenly sent to Japan in violation of new export restrictions.
Brunner said it was a technical violation by an exporter who was not experienced in dealing with Japan.
He said the U.S. Department of Agriculture will require double inspection of exports to Japan from now on.
"It was very interesting to see up close what is going on in Japan," Brunner said. "It reinforced our perception that it is a political matter and will take more time to be resolved."
Brunner is a business associate in Cow Camp, Inc., which produces seedstock and genetics and also includes a large cattle-feeding operation.
He also operates independently as a cattle buyer and marketer of a branded beef product known as Brunner Beef.
