June 9, 2009

South Korea is expected to maintain its strong stance on its beef ban to Canada even if the latter turns to the World Trade Organization's (WTO) dispute settlement panel, a government official said Sunday (June 7).

 

The official from the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, who declined to be identified, said there is no way to know if Canada will opt to ask for arbitration, but Seoul will take active steps and deal with all developments.

 

The comments come as the deadline for bilateral negotiations comes this week.

 

Under WTO rules on dispute settlements, a bilateral consultation is the first step in working out a discord, with talks to begin within 30 days of the request being officially filed. If no agreement is reached within 60 days of the request, the complainant can ask for a dispute settlement panel to be set up that can make a definitive ruling.

 

The official said that Ottawa will accept certain conditions that reflect local consumer concerns on Canadian beef.

 

Though no details were disclosed, the official said Canada's reported 16 confirmed cases of mad cow disease since 2003 will make it hard for Seoul to allow complete access to all beef cuts.

 

South Korea had banned all imports after May 2003 when the first mad cow disease case was reported. The brain wasting illness is suspected of causing the fatal variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.

 

The official said the Canada cases is "far greater than the three reported in the United States so it would be 'natural' if South Korea tried to limit what kind of beef cuts could be brought into the country."

 

Canada has received the same "controlled risk" classification from the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health as the United States, technically allowing it to export most beef cuts if parts of the small intestines and tonsils are removed.

 

Ottawa has asked for the same level of market access as US beef and has consistently called on Seoul to set a date for market opening.

 

Other experts said that even if Seoul were to lose the dispute settlement, the entire process could take up to two years to resolve, translating into lost sales for Canadian beef exporters.

 

The ministry, in addition, pointed out that Seoul is doing what it can to respond to complaints raised by Ottawa, including pushing for a revision of the controversial Prevention of Livestock Epidemic Act that effectively hinders imports of Canadian beef. The act, passed in the wake of massive protests following the market's opening to US beef, prohibits imports of meat from cattle over 30 months old if the country of origin has reported a case of made cow disease within the last five years.

 

Agriculture Minister Chang Tae-pyong told reporters recently that he has asked lawmakers to change the livestock epidemic act because it can be construed as being a barrier to free trade and counterproductive to national interests.

 

Lawmakers with the National Assembly's agriculture committee, however, have said they did not believe a change was needed.

 

Rep. Lee Ke-jin of the ruling Grand National Party said that lawmakers may look into the matter if the issue leads to a full fledged trade dispute, although there is no pressing need to do so right now.

 

Opposition lawmakers like Choi Kyu-sik from the Democratic Party and Rep. Kang Ki-kab from the progressive Democratic Labor Party have said they cannot agree to any changes, making clear that any move by the agriculture ministry would be met with resistance.

 

Many say that even if the matter goes before a settlement panel, both sides could call it off if a compromise is reached so there is no need to be overly concerned or to try to make changes that could spark another backlash.