July 24, 2006

 

US, South Korea at standstill on beef-trade deal

 

 

The US and South Korea are essentially at a "standstill" on a few unresolved issues that prevent a deal to restart beef trading, US government officials said Friday (Jul 21).

 

Stanley Phillips and Susan Phillips, US Department of Agriculture officials stationed in Seoul but on leave in the US this week, said both countries will not move forward until they get agreements on issues such as a tolerance level for bone fragments in US shipments.

 

Susan Phillips, USDA's agriculture attache in Seoul, said: "We are very reluctant to move forward because we don't have anything very clear on what will happen with bone fragments right now ... We don't want to move forward with an agreement as it is unless we get some clarity on that issue."

 

The US is still hoping South Korea will agree to tolerance levels that would prevent the country from halting beef imports in the future if it finds any bone fragments-- something US industry officials say is unavoidable.

 

Hong Kong has stopped accepting imports from three US beef plants since it eased its ban in Dec 2005. All three of those actions were due to the discovery of bone fragments.

 

South Korea banned US beef in Dec 2003 immediately after the USDA announced finding the first case of BSE in the US. South Korea imported about US$815 million worth of US beef in 2003, according to USDA data.

 

US and South Korean negotiators reached a preliminary agreement earlier this year to allow the US to export boneless beef from cattle under 30 month old, but a new BSE discovery here put that on hold. And then further complications arose after South Korea sent four teams of auditors to examine US beef producing facilities.

 

There are things South Korea is still adamant about receiving from the US, Stanley Phillips said.

 

South Korea has raised concerns that US beef plants do not use dedicated equipment for beef exports and US and Canadian cattle are not segregated.

 

The US has offered "clarification" on those concerns, but so far that has not been enough, he said.

 

"What they're really looking for is something they can sell to their constituents back in (South) Korea as a concrete action that address their concerns," he said.