April 30, 2007

South Korea, US to discuss quarantine measures on beef trade

South Korea and the United States will hold a technical meeting in Seoul this week over quarantine measures for American beef shipments, the South Korean Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said.

The US has shipped its 6.4 tonnes beef exports to South Korea last week, the first time after more than a three-year ban. In a free trade agreement in January this year, Seoul has agreed to reopen its market for US beef but only restricted to boneless products from cattle less than 30 months old.

Washington has requested for the technical meeting to discuss thee detailed steps Seoul plans to take should it find bone chips in US beef shipments, according to the ministry. The meeting will also deal on the forthcoming ruling of the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE) on US beef in May.

Kim Chang-seob, head of the ministry's livestock quarantine division, will lead the Korean delegation on the talks while the US representatives may include Charles Lambert, undersecretary of agriculture or Cathleen Enright, deputy assistant US trade representative.