November 18, 2010

South Korea will not discuss beef trade issue with US

South Korea will not respond to continued calls by the US to further open its local beef market, one of the sticking points that have blocked the ratification of a bilateral free trade accord, a senior trade official said Wednesday (Nov 17).

Seoul and Washington held week-long talks last week in attempts to reach a compromise on their free trade agreement (FTA) signed more than three years ago, thus paving the way for the ratification of the pact.

But the two countries failed to narrow differences on auto and beef-related trade. They are set to hold further talks to address the pending issues.

"The beef trade issue is not related to a free trade accord. That's our firm stance," an official said. "Our position is that the issue should not be discussed during the upcoming talks or through other channels."

South Korea imports beef only from cattle less than 30 months old due to fear of mad cow disease. The US reported three cases of the disease between 2003 and 2006. In response, Seoul banned imports of US beef in 2003 before resuming them in late 2008, which led to months of street rallies.

US beef exports to South Korea reached US$216 million last year, making South Korea the fourth-largest importer of US beef products, according to industry statistics.

But the US has been calling on South Korea to allow shipments of beef from cattle of all ages.

Bilateral trade between South Korea and the US totalled US$66.7 billion in 2009, down sharply from US$84.7 billion in 2008, as global commerce suffered during the economic downturn.