WASHINGTON (Kyodo) U.S. President George W. Bush promised Congress in a trade report Tuesday that his administration will take "all appropriate steps" to ensure that Japan quickly lifts its 15-month-old ban on American beef.
"At the highest levels of government, the administration is pressing Japan to expeditiously reopen this critical market for U.S. beef," according to the 2005 Trade Policy Agenda and 2004 Annual Report of the President on the Trade Agreements Programs submitted to Congress.
Calling it a priority among many other issues related to Japan, ranging from postal privatization to regulatory reforms, the report says the Bush administration "will take all appropriate steps to ensure that this occurs."