U.S. Senator Jim Talent (R-Mo.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today issued the following statement on the opening of the Japanese market to U.S. beef:

"I am very pleased our producers can once again sell American beef products to Japanese consumers. And it's about time. The Japanese should have made this decision at least a year ago. That is why I was part of a bipartisan group of senators who recently introduced legislation calling for a retaliatory tariff if the border wasn't opened by the end of 2005. It's unfortunate that such a step was necessary but I don't believe the Japanese would have acted if farm state senators had not made clear that our patience had run out.
"This is also great news for Missouri's economy where agribusiness represents the second largest sector of our economy. Missouri ranks second in the nation in beef production with 2.07 million head of beef cows.

"We must continue to be vigilant and aggressive in trade negotiations on behalf of our producers so we can maintain current markets and open new ones for our agricultural products."