Korean beef market to get tougher
Queensland Business Review, Australia
Korean beef market to get tougher
6 April 2007
The US-Korea Free Trade Agreement will allow the US greater access to one of Australian beef’s premier export markets.
"The United States and South Korea have finalised negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which after the expected start date of 2008 will reduce the current 40 percent tariff on US beef to zero in 15 years," AgForce Cattle President Greg Brown says.
"This will eventually make Australian beef the more expensive option on South Korean shelves."
Brown says given Queensland was the country’s largest beef exporting state, news Australia’s third largest market was about to give a competitor easier access was concerning.
"We are going to face additional challenges once this agreement is passed by the US Congress and the South Korean government," he says.
"Once in place, South Korea will drop the current tariff by 2.67 percent per year."
Brown says it is imperative the Australian Government moved to fat track current research into a possible Australia-South Korea FTA.
