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U.S.
Senator Member: Agriculture, Energy, Veterans' Affairs, Ethics and Aging Committees |
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For Immediate
Release April 7, 2006 |
CONTACT: Cody Wertz – Comm. Director 303-455-7600 Andrew Nannis – Press Secretary 202-224-5852 |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – United States Senators Ken Salazar (D-CO) and Sam Brownback (R-KS), joined by 14 of their colleagues, sent a letter to President Bush asking him to urge the Chinese to end their ban on American beef and beef products during the upcoming meetings between the United States and China. “American beef is the safest in the world and this ban is hurting Americans. I stand with many other U.S. Senators, who think the same as we fight for rural America. It is an economic priority that markets with China be re-opened as quickly as possible. The upcoming meetings between the U.S. and China, specifically between President Bush and President Hu Jintao are the perfect opportunities to end this ban.” The following is a list of the Senators who have signed the letter to President Bush. Salazar (D-CO), Brownback (R-KS), Conrad (D-ND), Dorgan (D-ND), Bond (R-MO), Burns (R-MT), Thomas (R-WY), Crapo (R-ID), Baucus (D-MT), Craig (R-ID), Roberts(R-KS), Allard (R-CO), Wyden (D-OR), Talent (R-MO), DeWine (R-OH), Inhofe (R-OK), Nelson (D-NE) Cornyn (R-TX), Pryor (D-AR) and Johnson (D-SD) The full letter is included below: Dear Mr. President, As Senators from states where beef production is an integral part of our state economies, we are extremely concerned about China’s continued ban on beef and beef products. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has implemented new, scientifically sound bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) controls since the first case of BSE was found in the U.S. over two years ago. These new procedures work in conjunction with other BSE controls and have continued to prove that U.S. beef is the safest in the world. Therefore, we believe that the upcoming meetings between the U.S. and China present a unique opportunity to advocate for the fair treatment of America’s beef and beef products in the Chinese market. Prior to the ban, China was the seventh-largest export market for U.S. beef and beef product and continues to hold great potential as a market in the future. This continued ban on U.S. beef is not justified, and there is no scientific evidence to suggest that our products should be prohibited from international trade. Recently, the Chinese have agreed to discuss the potential for reopening their markets to U.S. beef with U.S. government officials. As a result, the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade meeting in early April will provide an ideal forum to address this issue. Furthermore, President Hu Jintao’s state visit later in the month presents yet another significant opportunity to resolve this matter. We are looking for firm results in order to be able to fully export U.S. beef to China as soon as possible. Making the resumption of trade one of your economic priorities at these meetings will send a clear signal regarding the importance of resolving this issue and reopening this market as soon as possible. Mr. President, we thank you for your Administration’s efforts on working to reopen many important markets to U.S. beef exports. Please help us continue this process by making U.S. beef trade with China an economic priority. Thank you in advance for your immediate consideration of this request.
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