LYNG SETS TOUGH U.S. STANCE WITH JAPAN ON BEEF
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Richard
Lyng warned Japan that the failure to remove a longstanding 
import quota on Japanese beef might spark a protectionist
response in the United States.
    "Given the protectionist mood in the Congress and the
country, if I were a leader in Japan I would certainly be very
concerned...and the failure to remove it (the beef quota) might
be very serious," Lyng told a group of U.S cattlemen.
    Lyng said he and Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter,
during a visit to Japan later this month, will demand "total
elimination" of the beef import quota by April 1988.
    The current dispute with Japan over semiconductor may
strengthen the U.S. stance in farm trade negotiations, Lyng
said, because Japan does not want a trade war with the U.S.
    Lyng dismissed recent statements in Tokyo that Japan might
retaliate against U.S. products as a result of the
semiconductor dispute.
    "They (Japan) aren't going to pick a fight with us," Lyng
said, adding that with its huge bilateral trade surplus Japan
has more to lose in a trade war than the United States.
    Lyng told the U.S. cattlemen that the quota on Japanese
beef imports does not allow consumers there an adequate choice
in food purchases.
    He said in addition to beef, the U.S. will press for
eliminiation of import barriers on Japan's citrus and rice as
well.
    Lyng noted that Japan is the largest buyer of U.S. farm
products, principally grains and soybeans.
 Reuter
