South Korea | U.S. Beef Negotiations End Without Resolution | Officials ende...

South Korea

U.S. Beef Negotiations End Without Resolution

Officials ended two-day negotiations in Seoul on Friday (Oct. 12) without resolution of expanded U.S. beef access to South Korea. The United States is asking South Korea to open fully its market to U.S. beef, citing its “controlled risk” BSE status, awarded in May by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), along with its industry safeguards that ensure American beef products are safe.

Taking part in the talks was an eight-member U.S. team, including USDA Deputy Under Secretary Bruce Knight and Deputy Under Secretary of Marketing and Regulatory Programs Chuck Lambert. The five-member South Korean delegation included its director of Livestock Poultry Bureau and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF).

The talks come on the heels of a suspension of U.S. beef imports into South Korea, imposed by MAF last week due to discovery of vertebral column, which violates the trade agreement between the two countries.

Meanwhile, South Korea Agriculture Minister Im Sang-gyu told a local radio station earlier this week that his government plans to renegotiate its trade rules because U.S. beef poses no health threat, Yonhap News reported.

"While concerns are being raised about whether American beef is safe, most experts agree that risks do not warrant trade restrictions," he reportedly said.

U.S. lawmakers have said they may not approve the bilateral free trade agreement the two countries agreed on earlier this year if South Korea does not expand its market for U.S. beef.

South Korea

U.S. Beef Negotiations End Without Resolution

Officials ended two-day negotiations in Seoul on Friday (Oct. 12) without resolution of expanded U.S. beef access to South Korea. The United States is asking South Korea to open fully its market to U.S. beef, citing its “controlled risk” BSE status, awarded in May by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), along with its industry safeguards that ensure American beef products are safe.

Taking part in the talks was an eight-member U.S. team, including USDA Deputy Under Secretary Bruce Knight and Deputy Under Secretary of Marketing and Regulatory Programs Chuck Lambert. The five-member South Korean delegation included its director of Livestock Poultry Bureau and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF).

The talks come on the heels of a suspension of U.S. beef imports into South Korea, imposed by MAF last week due to discovery of vertebral column, which violates the trade agreement between the two countries.

Meanwhile, South Korea Agriculture Minister Im Sang-gyu told a local radio station earlier this week that his government plans to renegotiate its trade rules because U.S. beef poses no health threat, Yonhap News reported.

"While concerns are being raised about whether American beef is safe, most experts agree that risks do not warrant trade restrictions," he reportedly said.

U.S. lawmakers have said they may not approve the bilateral free trade agreement the two countries agreed on earlier this year if South Korea does not expand its market for U.S. beef.