USSEC is pleased to announce that Japan lifted its enhanced monitoring of U.S. soybean imports on February 13.
USSEC has been working diligently to lift Japan’s heightened monitoring of U.S. soybeans, which was in response to a one-time detection in late 2013 of pesticide active ingredient flauzifop that was in violation of Japan’s maximum residue limits (MRL).
USSEC immediately treated this situation with the utmost seriousness, giving it the highest priority of attention on behalf of the soybean producers and exporters represented by USSEC.  USSEC participated in a meeting convened by the Japan Oil & Fat Importers & Exporters Association (JOFIEA) on December 10 to review the situation, discuss possible causes and discuss potential U.S. industry and government responses.
USSEC has participated in numerous conference calls and has exchanged large volumes of information with associated U.S. agencies, associations and firms including the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS), the North American Export Grain Association (NAEGA), Crop Life and flauzifop manufacturer Syngenta.  The purpose of these communications was to assess the current situation and determine what could be done to address JOFIEA’s current concerns as well as mitigate future incidents.