USMEF Staff Honored for Work on Key Market Access Issue in Japan

A USMEF staff member and a retired staff member were among those recently honored with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Award for Excellence in Achieving Strategic Objectives.

Travis Arp, USMEF technical services manager, and Susumu “Sam” Harada, who recently retired as senior director of trade projects and technical services for USMEF-Japan, participated in a U.S. government-industry team working to gain regulatory approval in Japan for certain pathogen reduction treatments (PRTs) used by the U.S. red meat industry.

“Starting in 2013, the Japan P-A-A Approval Team displayed creativity, diplomacy, responsiveness and clarity in preventing the disruption of U.S. beef, pork and poultry exports to Japan,” said a USDA-FAS statement announcing the award. “This group’s dedication and determination prevented the loss of nearly $4 billion in annual U.S. agricultural exports.”

USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng echoed these sentiments, noting that this situation called for a balanced approach.

“We’ve learned through the BSE experience that a heavy-handed approach is not likely to produce positive outcomes in Japan,” Seng said. “This group worked carefully and cooperatively with their counterparts in Japan to ensure that this issue didn’t escalate into a major trade conflict. I want to join USDA in commending Travis, Sam and the team members from the U.S. government for their outstanding efforts.”

Click on the photo below for a USDA-FAS video announcing the award.