U.S. prods on beef, autos, insurance

출처 : The Japan Times  - Mar 18 2:21 PM (on-line)
            The Japan Times  - Friday, March 19, 2010 (off -line)
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/nb20100319a3.html

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) Beef and automobiles are among the markets Japan should make more accessible to U.S. firms, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.

Testifying at a subcommittee of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Joseph Donovan, principal deputy assistant secretary of state, also called on Japan to give U.S. competitors an equal footing with their Japanese counterparts in the insurance and financial sectors, citing Japan Post as a market player with an unfair advantage.

In prepared testimony before the House panel, Donovan said Tokyo should adopt a standard for beef imports based on science and international norms.

He also urged Japan to foster a business environment that welcomes foreign investment.

Japan and the United States are at loggerheads over Washington’s insistence that Tokyo abolish limits on U.S. beef imports for meat coming from cattle aged older than 20 months.