WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk on Monday welcomed Japan's decision to review its ban on certain cuts of beef from the United States as a sign of Tokyo's interest in joining talks on an Asia Pacific free trade pact.
"I welcome this important step which puts us on a path to address the long-standing issue of beef trade with the United States," Kirk said in a statement after meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba.
Kirk said he urged Japan to further open its market to U.S. beef exports as quickly as possible.
He said he told Gemba that Tokyo must be prepared to tackle a number of other trade barriers if it wants to join talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Those negotiations now include the United States and eight other countries.
Japan currently bans imports of U.S. beef from cattle older than 20 months, as a result of several cases of mad cow disease found in the U.S. cattle herd about eight years ago.
The United States says it has addressed the threat posed by those cases and that all of its beef now meets international safety standards regardless of the age of the cow.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat whose committee has jurisdiction over trade agreements in Congress, Japan's decision to reassess the risk of importing beef from older U.S. cattle was long overdue.
"As Japan moves forward with its review process, we will be watching closely to ensure its beef policies are based on science and consistent with international standards, so U.S. ranchers can compete on a level playing field," Baucus said.
The United States hopes to finish negotiations on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership pact next year, but some trade experts believe the talks could easily extend into 2013.
Japan, Mexico and Canada asked last month to join the talks, which currently include the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia.
The addition of Japan, the world's second largest economy, would make proposed agreement the world's biggest free trade area if negotiators are successful.
But Tokyo's participation also could make striking a final deal much more difficult.
Japan is the United States's fourth-largest trading partner, with two-way trade last year totaling about $181 billion. But U.S. exporters say they still face many barriers in Japan's agricultural, auto, insurance and other markets.
U.S. lawmakers at a hearing last week on the TPP said they welcomed Japan's joining the negotiations, but only if it is prepared to open up its sensitive sectors.
Kirk said the talks were now on two parallel tracks.
The nine current TPP members are continuing to negotiate among themselves, while consulting separately with Japan, Mexico and Canada on their readiness to join the talks.
The TPP members are expected to make a decision some time next year on whether to formally bring the three applicants into the negotiations.
(Reporting By Doug Palmer; editing by Todd Eastham)
