WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today led a bipartisan group of Senators in sending a letter to urge Chinese President Hu Jintao to honor a commitment to open Chinese markets to U.S. beef by the end of June.

The Senators said in the letter, “We are concerned with the continued embargo on American beef. Resuming beef trade between our countries is a top priority.”

In April, the Chinese agreed to work toward the resumption of beef trade with the U.S. at the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade. In May, delegations from both China and the U.S. met and finalized a memorandum of cooperation with a basis on food safety. The Chinese agreed to finalize negotiations on a protocol to reopen their market by June 30th.

“While this meeting was marked by significant progress,” the Senators said, “We are disappointed and concerned that China has yet to take the steps necessary to allow beef exports to resume.”

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture and American ranchers are committed to ensuring that our animal and food safety programs keep pace with the science and international guidelines established by the Organization International d’Epizootics (OIE),” the Senators said. “The continued prohibition on U.S. beef and beef products is fundamentally inconsistent with the globally recognized food safety guidelines set by the OIE.

“To that end,” the letter said, “We urge you to quickly take the steps necessary to reestablish beef trade with the U.S.”

This letter is the latest in a series of efforts Senator Roberts has led to reopen markets to U.S. beef after the discovery of BSE in a single animal in the U.S. over two years ago.

Yesterday, Senator Roberts and Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) introduced legislation to impose tariffs on Japanese products if a date is not set to reopen the Japanese market to U.S. beef.

The beef industry is one of the largest industries in Kansas – representing over $5 billion in annual revenue. Kansas has 6.65 million head of cattle. Cattle represented 59%, over $6 billion, of the 2004 Kansas agricultural cash receipts.

Senator Roberts is a senior member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry.