Japan's rice market is a "terrible embarrassment" for consumers, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said Monday, urging Tokyo to further open up the market to foreign rice.
"On Japanese rice, this is a terrible embarrassment for the Japanese consumer -- a good case of frankly why trade liberalization for all countries is beneficial," Zoellick told a news conference. "People pay a tremendous amount for rice in Japan that they shouldn't have to, and at a time that the economy has been struggling."
At the same news conference, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said she will brief Japanese officials about measures taken by the United States to ensure the safety of its beef when she visits Japan later this week.
"I will actually be participating in a couple of events in Tokyo to talk about the safety of our food supply, to talk about the safety of our beef in particular, and how our safety system works," she said.