US President George W Bush has told Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien that he wants a quick resolution to the US ban on imports of beef from Canada.
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Chretien is understood to have telephoned the US president to discuss the ban, which has been in place since May when Canada reported a single case of mad cow disease.
“President Bush clearly said – and said many times – that it was his wish to find a rapid solution to this and that he’s asking his officials to find an early resolution to this problem,” Chretien spokeswoman Frederique Tsai was quoted by Reuters as saying.
With many other trading partners also imposing bans on Canadian beef following the discovery of the lone BSE case, the Canadian cattle industry estimates it lost more than C$550m (US$405.2m) in the first month of the ban.
Tsai said Chretien had not raised the subject of a Canadian ban on US beef imports in retaliation.
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By GlobalDataThe US is under pressure from Japan, which wants guarantees that US beef shipments do not include Canadian beef.
Meanwhile, Yoshiaki Watanabe, Japan’s vice minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, had said it would be some time before Japan resumes imports of beef from Canada, reported Xinhua News Agency.
He added that Canada should adopt strict measures, including wider inspections of cattle, similar to those measures taken by Japan to combat its own BSE crisis.
