June 11, 2008

US would not renegotiate beef deal with South Korea 
   
 

The US has no intention of altering a recent deal it struck with South Korea to fully resume beef trade between the two countries, USDA Deputy Secretary Chuck Conner said Tuesday (June 11, 2008).

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak have asked the US to renegotiate the terms of the beef deal struck with the US in April under pressure from masses protesting in Seoul and Cabinet members who have threatened to quit if the deal was to go through. One protest rally in Seoul on Sunday drew 40,000 peaceful demonstrators, by police estimates.

The deal, to be implemented in June, would allow the US to resume exporting beef to South Korea. The country was once the second largest importing market for US beef.

Lee suggested in a speech last week that the deal be only partially implemented and the US only be allowed to ship beef from cattle under 30 months old which are considered to be more susceptible to mad-cow disease.

Conner was adamant that the deal not be changed, but did say the USDA would not oppose US producers going some way to assure South Korean consumers, such as labeling their beef to reflect the age of the cattle that the beef came from.

Tyson Foods, JBS Swift & Co., Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., National Beef Packing Co. and Smithfield Beef Group Inc., all said in a joint statement that they are willing to label the beef to "indicate whether the product is from cattle under 30 months, or from cattle 30 months of age and over".