PM Transcripts

4l,, AUS AL1A
PRIME MINISTER
FOR PRESS 28SEPTEMBER 1977
LETTER TO MR FUKUDA
The Prime Minister tel'exed the following letter to the
Prime Minister of Japan, Mr Fukuda, today.
My dear Prime Minister,
I regret that I feel compelled to raise with you again the
question of Australian exports of beef to Japan.
Mr McKay, the leader of the Australian delegation to the
bilaterial discussions with your officials in Tokyo on
Monday and Tuesday of this week, has now reported to me.
He has told me that no progress was made in establishing a
more reliable and predictable basis for our beef trade.
I am deeply disappointed that the understanding which we reached
in our discussions, inKuala Lumpur, that officials should
continue discussions in even closer fashion with a view
to finding ways for more stability in exports, has yielded
no results. I would have thought that the achievement of
more stability -would at least have meant a move from the
present six monthly quotas for beef imports to a twelve
monthly basis.
In our discussions in Kuala Lumpur we each recognised the political
difficulties which each of our Governments face in
relation to our beef industries. The beef issue is one which is
infecting our trading relationship and indeed our total
relationship. The close and friendly relationship which we
now have and which we are both concerned to develop should not
be put at risk.
Knowing your concern about this matter, I would hope that you
might personally review the position with a view to encouraging
some progress towards a mutually satisfactory solution.
I suggest that we should agree to resume the talks at an early
date, and I would be happy to send one of my senior Ministers to
Tokyo for this purpose.
Yours sincerely,
( Malcolm Fraser)