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South Korea and U.S. hold talks on beef imports as free trade d
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)--South Korea and the United States began talks March 19 on banned bone fragments in American beef shipments and other agriculture issues, officials said, part of efforts to clinch a free trade deal by the end of this month. The talks come after Seoul informed Washington in early March that it will adjust its standards on bone fragments, seen as a possible concession to help get U.S. beef back into South Korean markets after an absence of more than three years due to fears of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. In addition to beef, ongoing efforts by the U.S. and South Korea to forge a free trade agreement will be on the agenda, said an official at South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, who would not allow his name to be used, citing the sensitivity of the negotiations. Robert Ogburn, a U.S. Embassy spokesman, said the two sides will discuss market access in South Korea for U.S. agriculture products as well as quarantine issues during the three days of scheduled talks. The meeting comes as chief free trade negotiators for the two sides are to meet during the week of March 19 in Washington in an attempt to bridge final gaps and finalize an agreement to slash tariffs and other trade barriers by the end of this month. The U.S. and South Korea reported significant progress in trade talks in mid-March, but said they remain apart in key sectors such as automobiles and agriculture. South Korea wants to exclude its rice market from any free trade deal. The two sides are also at odds over American beef, which was banned by South Korea after BSE was discovered in the United States in December 2003. Efforts to restart beef imports were stymied by the discovery of bone fragments in three shipments of U.S. beef late last year. South Korean officials fear they could harbor BSE . U.S. officials and lawmakers including Sen. Max Baucus, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, say American beef is safe and that a free trade deal is unlikely to win approval in Congress unless South Korea fully reopens its market. South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said on March 8 that it will adjust standards this month for bone fragments. Under the change, bone fragments would still be unacceptable, but Seoul would only return containers of meat containing bones, instead of rejecting the entire shipment. South Korea was formerly the third largest overseas market for U.S. beef. South Korean Agriculture Minister Park Hong-soo told reporters March 19 that it won't be easy to completely resolve the rice and beef issues, adding that South Korea cannot guarantee the future of the free trade deal if the U.S. presses on rice, according to his office. The U.S. and South Korea hope to wrap up a free trade deal by the end of March to allow U.S. lawmakers three months to review it and vote by July, when President Bush's fast-track trade authority expires. The authority allows Bush to submit a trade deal to Congress for a straight up-or-down vote without amendments. Any deal also needs approval by South Korea's National Assembly. B 11 3/26/07 1 Star WK Date: 3/22/07
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