June 21,2006

Grassley: Japan’s Planned Inspection of U.S. Beef Plants May Not Yield Resumed Imports

M E M O R A N D U M

To: Reporters and Editors
Re: Japan’s planned inspection of U.S. beef processing plants
Da: Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, with jurisdiction over
international trade, today made the following comment on Japan’s planned inspection of U.S. beef
processing plants as a possible precursor to resumed imports of U.S. beef.

“It’s important to remember that a commitment to conduct inspections doesn’t mean resumed
imports of U.S. beef. We’ve been through this drill before, and it’s premature to jump for joy over
this step. I’m glad Japan will begin inspections, but I’ll continue to press the Japanese until they
actually open their market based on science. Their resistance to U.S. beef is based on false premises.
At this point, our trading partner needs to keep moving forward to make positive-sounding pledges
a reality.”