April 6, 2007

South Korea to reject beef from Canadian cattle under US FTA

South Korea will reject beef from Canadian cattle under the free trade agreement (FTA) with the US, said Bae Jong-ha of the agriculture ministry.

Should any Canadian beef pass through the US, South Korea would block those shipments, added Bae, who is also South Korea's top negotiator on agricultural issues in the FTA negotiations.

Bae commented that while the FTA agreed upon tariffs, no agreement was reached regarding import guidelines.

Under the FTA, Seoul said it would consider all meat from cattle raised in the US for 100 days as being of US origin.

As Washington has allowed Canadian cattle under 30 months old to enter the US since mid-2005, there is a possibility of Canadian cattle being processed on US soil and sold as American beef.

Seoul has banned Canadian beef since mid-2003 due to mad cow disease.

South Korea said it would lower its 40 percent tariff on US beef over 15 years to protect domestic cattle ranchers, following negotiations.