Speeches

Texas Style Welcome for U.S. Beef
Remarks by Ambassador Patricia L. Herbold
at the Black Angus Steakhouse
April 12, 2006

Thank you, Jonathan.  Welcome to this Texas-style celebration in honor of the return to Singapore of the world’s best beef.  Thank you Ambassador Chan Heng-Chee and AVA Deputy CEO Dr. Chew Siang-Thai for joining us here this evening.  I’d also like to welcome Nicholas Boursac of AmCham and our other distinguished guests.

Texas has a name for doing things in a big way, and tonight certainly lives up to that reputation.   I’d like to recognize the sponsors for tonight’s event -- the Texas Beef Council, the U.S. Meat Export Federation, and the Embassy Agricultural Affairs Office.   Thank you all for your hard work.  Thank you also to the Black Angus Steakhouse for providing this terrific venue for us this evening.

I’d also like to thank all the members of the American Chamber of Commerce here tonight for your generous donation to the Patient Care Center at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.  Your contribution to the community is a wonderful way to mark tonight's festivities.

We are delighted to have U.S. beef back in the Singapore market.  We’ve been looking forward to giving Singaporeans a chance to compare U.S. beef with beef from all the other places that supply this market.  I’d like to extend my personal thanks to the Singapore authorities for lifting of the ban so soon after my arrival, limiting my period of deprivation.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority staff took a long, careful look at the food safety of U.S. beef before deciding to re-open the market.  The U.S. Government and U.S. industry work hard to ensure American beef is safe for both domestic and foreign consumers.  I appreciate the AVA’s in-depth review of all the facts, and I applaud their decision to allow U.S. beef back into the Singapore market.  I’ve told the Minister that now I’ll start encouraging AVA to let in my favorite T-bone steaks soon.

In closing, I would like to recognize the members of my Embassy team who have worked hard with the Singapore authorities on this market opening:  thank you especially to Agricultural Counselor Jonathan Gressel and his team Bernard Kong and Alice Chai and to Economic/Political Officers Laurent Charbonnet and Paul Horowitz.

Thank you all for joining us, and enjoy the U.S. beef.