WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - A White House visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe next week may not bring an expansion of U.S. beef sales to Japan, said Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns on Thursday. "I'd be very surprised if there was a breakthrough," Johanns told reporters. He said he had no meetings scheduled with Japanese officials during Abe's visit, set for April 26-27. Johanns said he and Japan's agriculture minister, Toshikatsu Matsuoka, discussed beef trade by telephone earlier on Thursday. "We did not reach an agreement," said Johanns. At present, Japan allows import of U.S. beef from cattle aged 20 months or younger provided that slaughterhouses remove organs posing the highest risk of carrying mad cow disease. "My concern is we're not making the progress needed to get this moving," said Johanns. He said world animal-health experts were expected to give the United States a "controlled risk" rating in coming weeks, which should provide proof to Japan that it can safely import beef from older U.S. cattle. For its part, Japan says it wants to complete an inspection of U.S. meat plants that export beef. "I have not agreed to audits at this point," said Johanns. "With the classification that will occur in May, it's time to comply," said Johanns in remarks aimed at China and South Korea. Like Japan, both nations restrict U.S. beef imports based on discovery of three U.S. cases of mad cow disease since December 2003.
