WASHINGTON (AP)--Thailand is lifting a bovine spongiform encephalopathy-related ban on U.S. beef, officials said Oct. 20.

Thailand was among dozens of countries that banned U.S. beef in December 2003 following the discovery of a cow infected with BSE in Washington state.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns said it is time for other Asian markets, particularly Japan, once the biggest customer of U.S. beef, to follow.

"There is no justifiable reason for borders to be closed to U.S. beef," Johanns said in a statement from Geneva, where he was attending global trade talks with U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman.

Portman said the move reflects the relationship the U.S. and Thailand are trying to strengthen through a free trade agreement.

Japan, formerly the biggest U.S. beef customer, purchased $1.5 billion (euro1.25 billion) in U.S. beef that year. Japan has not yet lifted its ban despite agreeing to do so last fall.

Lawmakers have urged Portman to penalize Japan for failing to lift its ban. "We're fed up," Sen. Max Baucus of Montana said Oct. 20.

Baucus said his state produces the best beef in the world.

"I'm glad that Thailand agrees. Now it's time for Japan to lift its ban as well," Baucus said.

The Washington state cow had been imported from Canada. Last month, the U.S. confirmed a second case of the brain-wasting ailment in a 12-year-old Texas-born cow.