Fair Trade for All Industries

Every once in a while, a perfect moment comes along to make a point – an opportunity to drive a message about fairness and not being hypocritical. During a recent hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Nebraska Sen. Mike Johanns had such an occasion while hearing testimony on Toyota’s problems.

Johanns pondered what Japan would think if the U.S. treated the Japanese car company the way the Japanese treated and continue to treat the American beef industry. Johanns’ testimony can be seen here; it lasts about four minutes, but is worth the watch. He starts getting into this issue at just after the two-minute mark.

Additionally, a recent CattleNetwork story reported that “U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, making a trip to Japan, will argue that U.S. regulators are treating Toyota more fairly than their Japanese counterparts treat American beef, news service AFP reported.”

Maybe Sec. LaHood needs to do what we did in Texas when Canada and Mexico reached an agreement to accept Canadian cattle and left Texas and the rest of the U.S. cattle producers sitting on the sidelines – take bold and swift action! We need these guys to push this issue and defend our consumers, our beef industry and our motorists – huge parts of the Texas economy that result in significant jobs and investment.