S.K.-Canada FTA talks set to cover similar ground as those with U.S.
The Hankyoreh, Seoul
S.K.-Canada FTA talks set to cover similar ground as those with U.S.
Ottawa will reportedly bring up touchy beef import issue, just as Washington did
23 April 2007
During Korea-Canada free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations, set to resume in their 10th round on April 23, Canada is reportedly going to bring to the table proposals on sensitive issues, such as its access to the South Korean beef market. The same issue brought controversy to the FTA between South Korea and the U.S., a deal agreed upon on April 2.
A South Korean official in the negotiations said on condition of anonymity, "Canada has informed us that it will address a possible earlier resumption of South Korea’s imports of Canadian beef, which were banned due to mad cow disease outbreaks. The nation has put pressure on the South Korean government, citing the recently agreed trade pact with the U.S."
The trade talks with Canada were initially slated to resume in March, but Canada proposed a postponement; sources close to the matter say Canada wanted to evaluate the progress of the FTA negotiations between South Korea and the U.S. first.
In the Korea-Canada negotiations, as in the Korea-U.S. ones, beef cannot be an ’official’ subject of the talks. But just as was the case in the FTA with Washington, it is expected to be a major ‘side player’ within related negotiations. Boneless U.S. beef imports resumed last fall, part of U.S. preconditions for trade talks, and South Korea further agreed in March that if bone fragments were found in the beef, just the affected box would be sent back rather than the entire shipment, which has so far been the situation with the first three attempted U.S. shipments. Currently, the U.S. is asking Korea to entirely lift its ban on U.S. beef imports, including bone-in beef.
Park Chang-yong, an official of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, said, "Like the U.S., Canada has demanded Korea to ease quarantine inspections of livestock products, and also to acknowledge a beef product’s country of origin based on where the animal is butchered, not where it is raised. During the upcoming talks, Canada may urge Korea to make concessions on the same level as those made with the United States," added Park.
Another case of mad cow disease was discovered in Canada’s Alberta in early February this year. Canada, however, like the U.S., was judged on March 11 as being capable to control mad cow disease risk by the World Organization for Animal Health, an agency aimed at promoting international cooperation on the control of animal diseases, with a final decision by the organization slated for May. South Korea began importing Canadian beef in 2001, but an import ban was imposed due to a mad cow disease outbreak in Canada in late 2003.
South Korea will likely be faced with growing pressure from Canada in other sectors as well because the trade structure between the two nations is similar to the one between South Korea and the U.S., and Canada has a sense of rivalry with the U.S. in terms of trade.
Chang Jae-hyeong, an official of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, said, "If Canada and South Korea make negotiations at a lower level than those seen between Korea and the U.S., there may be a problem during the FTA’s ratification process at Canadian parliament."
Chang added, "The FTA with Canada cannot be exactly the same as the deal with the U.S., but the trade pact with the U.S. can serve as the standard."
Shin Jeong-hun, an official of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Energy, agreed, saying, "[South Korea’s FTA with] the European Union (EU) as well as the one with Canada will use the Korea-U.S. FTA as their benchmark."
FTA negotiations with Canada began in July 2005, a year earlier than those with the United States. The South Korean government does not have to put a time limit on the negotiations, but plans to conclude the talks by the end of this year.
