June 3, 2009

Canada is likely to take South Korea's beef ban to the dispute settlement body of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) after making little headway in bilateral negotiations, a South Korean senior official said Tuesday (Jun 2).

 

If no breakthrough is made by June 9, Ottawa can call for the establishment of an international panel that could force Seoul to lift its current ban on Canadian beef, said Agriculture Minister Chang Tae-pyong.

 

If Seoul loses the dispute, there may be a need to revise the updated livestock epidemic prevention law that sets tougher standards for importing meat from countries that have confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease, Chang said.

 

The revised law can be seen as hindering free trade, and the ministry has asked the parliament to make necessary changes to avoid criticisms, he said.

 

Chang added that if the WTO calls on South Korea to lift the 30-month age rule for beef cattle, the same rule would have to apply to US beef, though the maximum age rule will have to be lifted in the long-run.

 

South Korea currently only imports US beef from animals under 30 months old.

 

South Korea's import ban has been in place since May 2003, when Canada confirmed its first case of mad cow disease.

 

Several rounds of negotiations to lift the ban came to nothing, as South Korea doubted Canada's ability to control the disease due to repeated mad cow cases over the years.

 

Canada reassured of its ability to ensure the safety of its beef, but South Korea would not budge, leading to Ottawa lodging a complaint with the WTO against the ban in early April.