October 16, 2007

 

US frustrated with South Korea on beef talks

 

 

The United States on Friday (October 12) was disappointed at failed negotiations with South Korea on possible reopening of the beef market and accused the Asian nation, which used to be one of the largest importers of American beef, of breaking its promise.

 

Agriculture acting secretary Chuck Conner has expressed deep disappointment "in the limited progress that has been made to date in these technical discussions and lack of willingness on the part of South Korea to move to standards of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), which South Korea had said they were going to do."

 

OIE in May declared US beef safeguards sufficient to prevent the spread of mad cow disease.

 

A joint team from the US Trade Representative and the Department of Agriculture will go to South Korea and several other countries in the coming weeks to press them to follow international standards on beef trade, Conner said.

 

Bilateral talks in Seoul failed at an agreement on South Korea's import rules for American meat products as the US demanded that all restrictions be lifted, while South Korea insisted certain limits must be retained due to lingering health concerns.

 

South Korea had banned all US beef imports in December 2003 after discovery of mad cow disease at an American cattle farm. It partially reopened its market in January 2006, agreeing only to buy boneless products from cattle under 30 months old to minimize health hazards.

 

The Asian trading partner has been one of the largest buyers of US beef worth US$850 million a year before the ban.

 

Last week, South Korea temporarily suspended imports after another discovery of risk material linked to mad cow disease, including meat from backbone and ribs, in US shipments. Korean officials have complained of relaxed US inspections and unsatisfactory processing standards that can increase risk of contamination.

 

Conner said such issues should not even be subjects of negotiations, given the OIE ruling that declared US meat safe.

 

The beef dispute has derailed efforts to pass a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), a deal hailed as important for political as much as economic relations between the two countries. Senior members of Congress have made clear they will not endorse the FTA without Seoul's full beef market opening.

 

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun had said that his government will follow international standards, referring to rulings issued by the OIE.

 

A few months later, in May, the OIE classified US meat as "controlled risk," a classification that allows export of most beef parts.

 

Conner said the South Korean government was not keeping the promise made by Roh.