Yonhap 2008/05/07
Seoul raises possibility of suspending U.S. beef imports
By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, May 7 (Yonhap) — South Korea will halt imports of American beef if a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) disease is reported in the United States, a senior government official said Wednesday.
Agriculture minister Chung Woon-chun told lawmakers that Seoul will take the unilateral step even if such a move could lead to trade disputes with Washington.
The announcement is a departure from the government’s previous stance of not taking any restrictive measures unless definitive scientific proof is released or if the United States loses its status as a BSE "controlled risk" country, given by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
The OIE designation given to the United States in May 2007 has been cited as the key reason why South Korea agreed to open its market fully to most U.S. beef. BSE is the official name for the fatal, brain-wasting mad cow disease that some reports claim may have affected up to 1 million cattle so far.
"The import ban would probably lead to trade problems but such a move may be needed to alleviate public concern," the policymaker said at a parliamentary hearing to review the revised U.S. import agreement reached on April 18.
"The lives and health of Koreans are more important than trade benefits and issues such as the free trade agreement (with the United States)," he stressed. The United States is a one of the top three importers of South Korean products, with both governments trying to nudge respective lawmakers to ratify a free trade agreement signed last year.
He added that Seoul plans to ask for a revision to import conditions pending negotiations underway between the United States and other beef importing countries.
"If agreements with other countries result in deals that are more advantageous to importers, Seoul will call for new talks," he said. The United States is engaged in talks with such countries as Japan, China and Taiwan.
The remark comes as President Lee Myung-bak said earlier in the day that the government will immediately suspend U.S. beef imports as outlined in the new trade rules if imported meat poses a threat to the health of the country’s people.
Under the deal ironed out last month, Seoul said it would import most beef cuts including bone-in beef and by-products. The pact, which has drawn considerable public resistance, is expected to go into effect on May 15, and will replace the agreement reached in January 2006. The former agreement only allowed boneless beef from cattle under 30 months old to be imported.
Chung then said that the government has already concurred on the need to expand country-of-origin rules to cover all restaurants and catering services so the public is fully aware of where the food they are eating comes from.
He, however, reiterated that he is confident that there will be no further mad cow outbreaks in the United States, and pointed out that after countries around the world began enforcing tighter protein feed control regimes the actual number of BSE cases have plummeted from over 37,000 in 1992 to 142 for last year.
The minister said that while 207 people have been diagnosed as having caught human mad cow disease from consuming tainted cattle as of 2007, none have been reported this year.