Directs: (1) the U.S. Trade Representative to certify to Congress by August 31, 2006, that Japan is no longer prohibiting the importation of U.S. beef; (2) the Secretary of the Treasury, if such certification is not made, to impose additional tariffs (which shall continue until the certification is submitted to Congress) on Japan by September 30, 2006; and (3) the Secretary of Agriculture to begin negotiations with Japan to end such beef import prohibitions.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3548 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3548
To authorize appropriate action if negotiations with Japan to allow the
resumption of United States beef exports are not successful, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 21, 2006
Mr. Conrad (for himself, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Burns, Mr. Baucus, Mr.
Dorgan, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Salazar, Mr. Allard, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Thune,
Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Dayton, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Craig, Mr. Coleman,
and Mr. Talent) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize appropriate action if negotiations with Japan to allow the
resumption of United States beef exports are not successful, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the United States cattle industry produces abundant,
safe, and healthful food for consumers in the United States and
around the world;
(2) Japan prohibited imports of beef from the United States
during the period beginning December 2003 and ending December
2005, after a single case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
(BSE, or ``mad cow disease'') was found in a Canadian-born
animal in Washington State;
(3) the United States has implemented and maintained a BSE
surveillance and safeguard program that exceeds the
internationally recognized standards of the World Organization
for Animal Health (OIE) for BSE control, eradication, and
testing to protect human and animal health;
(4) the United States and the Government of Japan concluded
an agreement on December 12, 2005, that established the
conditions under which beef exports to Japan could resume;
(5) as a result of errors by a single United States
exporter certified to sell beef to Japan and inadequate
oversight by the Department of Agriculture, a single shipment
of United States beef was found to be noncompliant with the
terms of the agreement resulting in a suspension of all United
States beef exports to Japan;
(6) the United States has taken substantive corrective
actions to ensure that United States beef exports to Japan are
in full compliance with the terms of the agreement, fully
disclosed the actions taken to the Government of Japan, and
allowed Japanese officials the opportunity to review those
actions and personally inspect and determine the eligibility of
all United States beef processing plants certified for the
export of beef to Japan;
(7) notwithstanding the membership of Japan in the OIE and
the commitment of Japan under the Agreement on the Application
of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the World Trade
Organization to apply sanitary and phytosanitary measures only
to the extent necessary to protect human, animal, and plant
health, based on scientific principles, Japan continues to
maintain an unjustified suspension of imports of United States
beef; and
(8) the continued violation by Japan of the spirit and
letter of the World Trade Organization commitments of Japan has
resulted in the cumulative economic loss to the United States
beef industry of approximately $6,300,000,000 and current
annual economic trade losses of $3,140,000,000 per year.
SEC. 2. NEGOTIATIONS AND CERTIFICATION REGARDING UNITED STATES BEEF
EXPORTS TO JAPAN.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not
later than August 31, 2006, the United States Trade Representative
shall submit to Congress a certification described in subsection (b).
(b) Certification.--The certification described in this subsection
means a certification by the United States Trade Representative to
Congress that Japan is no longer prohibiting the importation of beef
from the United States.
(c) Additional Tariffs.--
(1) In general.--If the certification described in
subsection (b) is not made, the Secretary of the Treasury
shall, not later than September 30, 2006, impose additional
tariffs on selected articles that are grown by, the products
of, or manufactured by Japan and that enter the customs
territory of the United States, in addition to any other duty
that would otherwise apply to the articles.
(2) Amount.--The additional tariffs shall be applied to the
articles in an amount sufficient, in the aggregate, to result
in additional tariffs being imposed on imports of articles from
Japan in an amount equal to $3,140,000,000 annually.
(3) Duration.--The additional tariffs imposed by this
section shall terminate on the date that a certification
described in subsection (b) is submitted to Congress.
(d) Negotiations.--Beginning on the date of enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the United States
Trade Representative, shall expedite negotiations with Japan to ensure
that Japan adopts a process that leads to the elimination of the
prohibition by Japan on imports of beef from the United States.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line