Argentina reacts against US and Japan

BUENOS AIRES - Agence France-Presse

People line up to buy meat at a market in Buenos Aires, Argentina. AP photo

Argentina has lodged complaints at the World Trade Organization against the United States and Japan over import restrictions on meats and lemons, the foreign ministry said on July 10.

“The unjustified restrictions of the United States and Japan add to the traditional protectionist practices -- such as agricultural subsidies -- that maintain an uneven system of multilateral trade and show yet again the difference in treatment between developed countries and developing countries in terms of international trade,” the ministry said in a statement. In particular, Argentina is taking issue with the “years of delay” taken by the United States to allow the importing of fresh, refrigerated or frozen beef, from specific regions free of foot and mouth disease, the statement said. These regions includes a zone where vaccinations were administered, as well as Patagonia, determined free of the disease without vaccination, it said.