Japan to Resume Imports of U.S. Sheep, Goat Meat

July 13, 2018

Washington- The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday that Japan will resume imports of sheep and goat meat from the United States after a break of over 14 years.

Japan stopped the imports in December 2003 following the outbreak of mad cow disease, formally called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, in the United States.

The two countries agreed on the removal of the import ban through the bilateral economic dialogue launched under an agreement between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump.

U.S. farmers will be allowed to start procedures for exporting sheep and goat meat to Japan if the department judges their facilities eligible. Jiji Press