Govt Considers Banning Chinese Spinach
Click
Here to Add Comment Subject:
Govt Considers Banning Chinese Spinach
Date:
Tue, 17 Sep 2002 12:24:01 -0400
From:
Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide
Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
September 14, 2002, Govt considers banning Chinese spinach - Toshihisa Ishii Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer.
The government is considering banning imports of frozen spinach from China, citing the discovery of large amounts of residual pesticides in the vegetable, sources said Friday.
Revisions to the Food Sanitation Law went into effect last Saturday allowing the government to ban the import of foods that may be hazardous.
China has said any ban would violate World Trade Organization rules and regulations.
Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi told Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen during a meeting in Beijing that Japanese consumers were "extremely sensitive to food safety issues."
She asked Qian to work to control the amount of pesticides used on spinach grown for export to Japan, but Qian avoided the issue, saying Tokyo was merely using the pesticides issues as an excuse to block agricultural imports from China, the sources said.
According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, the recently revised law allows the government to impose import bans on foods from specific countries or regions if "a considerable number of violations" by foreign producers, including hygiene management failures or inadequate pesticides control, was verified.
"Unless the Chinese government can show us it is willing to implement clear preventive measures against such violations, we will just have to go ahead with import bans," a ministry official said.
Chinese foreign trade and economic cooperation officials responded strongly, hinting they may take the issue to the WTO.
"In the name of food safety, Japan is exercising trade protectionism and is discriminating (against China)," a Chinese government official said.
The ministry will make a final decision after Japan-China talks scheduled for later this month.
The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, however, has expressed concerns about the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry's move, as one official said: "A total ban on imports would hurt those producers who don't break the rules. I think bans should be avoided as much as possible in order to maintain free trade."
Government officials reported to the WTO the details of the Chinese spinach argument. They asked for its understanding that the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry's emergency measures are based on the WTO's Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, which grants countries the right to protect its citizen's health.
The SPS Agreement, however, also mandates that measures taken should not simply be used to camouflage trade restrictions. China, which recently joined the WTO, is expected to protest Japan's actions by stressing this clause.
Standards regarding pesticides used on food products differ between countries and there are no clear-cut rules when it comes to the safety of imported food.
There has been friction between the United States and Japan regarding imported foods since the late 1980's.
The Japanese government has criticized the United States for using too many pesticides on oranges before exporting them to Japan.
While Washington has denounced the recent tightening of Tokyo's quarantine on apples, saying it is a form of trade restriction.
According to Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry sources, Japan will argue during next month's WTO panel meeting that its quarantine procedures are scientifically based.
But Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry sources warn that the WTO's main purpose is to promote international trade, not protect consumers from food poisoning. Therefore its decisions are likely to favor trade over food safety.
The sources also noted that the United States has closely monitored Japan's recent revision of the Food Sanitation Law and the expected establishment of the Food Safety Commission, both of which may trigger further friction.
The European Union also has rules and regulations concerning imported foods. The EU called for preventive principles during the WTO agricultural committee meeting held in Geneva earlier this month, arguing that governments should be allowed to impose restrictions on imported foods if there were safety concerns.
Japan demanded that food safety concerns not be excluded from agricultural trade talks.
Developing countries and big agricultural producer countries, including the United States and Australia, see Japan's stance as supporting nontariff barriers and they are unlikely to favor such a position, in the near future.
In Japan, where much food is imported, it is hard to see consumers compromising on food safety.
Government sources said Japan will stick to its stance that the revised Food Sanitation Law aims to protect public health and does not violate WTO rules.
The only way to maintain this stance seems to keep in step with the EU, together calling for food safety as a primary target at WTO meetings.
Copyright 2002 The Yomiuri Shimbun
If you would like to be included in our mailing list for continuing information on pesticides, please email us at list@safe2use.com.