S. Korea will not automatically accept OIE ruling on US beef: minister
The Hankyoreh, Seoul
S. Korea will not automatically accept OIE ruling on U.S. beef: minister
21 March 2007
Seoul — Yonhap News. South Korea is not obliged to automatically accept a planned ruling by a world animal health body that may make it easier for the United States to export beef, a senior policymaker said Wednesday.
Agriculture Minister Park Hong-soo said U.S. demands that South Korea fully open its beef market once the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) announces an updated mad cow risk classification cannot be accepted. He said Seoul will insist on bilateral import negotiations with new import guidelines.
"The government will only use the OIE findings as a reference material, while reserving the right to decide what types of meat are safe for import," he said on a radio talk show.
The U.S. side has said the beef issue must be resolved before the two countries can sign off on a free trade agreement (FTA) at the end of the month.
The OIE is expected to declare the U.S. is a "controlled risk country" in late May, technically allowing it to export all non-specified risk materials (SRMs) beef products, including bone-in beef. SRM refers to such parts as head bones, brains, vertebral columns, spinal cords and dorsal root ganglions, which pose the greatest risk of transmitting mad cow disease to humans.
In an agreement reached in January 2006, South Korea agreed to import boneless beef from cattle less than 30 months old. No American beef has reached the domestic market since late 2003, when a mad cow case was reported in the country.
On other crucial sticking points in the FTA negotiations such as rice, citrus and dairy products, the minister said very little headway was being made.
Seoul stressed repeatedly that sensitive agricultural products must be kept out of the FTA, while Washington maintains that there must be no exceptions to lowering and eventually dismantling tariffs.
He said speculation about a "big deal" in which South Korea makes concessions in areas like textiles to hold onto agriculture are not true.
"We may make concessions within the agricultural sector to protect sensitive products but nothing is being discussed that will require a give-and-take with other industries," he said.
Negotiators engaged in the third day of FTA talks on agriculture said little progress is being made due to differences on beef and tariff reductions.
"After settling less controversial subjects, the two sides have not budged on key issues," a ministry spokesman said.
He said if neither side gives in negotiators may not be able to settle the last remaining obstacles to signing an FTA in the talks, which started on Monday.
If this is the case, all unresolved issues will have to be decided at a higher-level meeting planned for next week in Seoul.
South Korea and the U.S. have held eight rounds of FTA talks.
