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U.S. allays BSE fears in South KoreaSEOUL, South Korea (AP)--The United States formally recognized South Korea's right to suspend American beef imports if bovine spongiform encephalopathy breaks out in the country, a top trade official said May 20. South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab sent him a letter May 19 formally acknowledging that suspending imports was Seoul's right. The letter was a result of talks South Korea had requested to improve the beef trade deal the two countries signed last month. Under that deal, Seoul cannot suspend U.S. beef imports even if a new case of BSE is found in the U.S. It can only halt beef imports if the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health downgrades its safety rating for American cattle. That led to a strong public backlash in South Korea, and prompted Seoul to seek a written agreement from Washington acknowledging Seoul's right to suspend imports under international trade rules. "I clearly state our government's position again that we can immediately halt imports if BSE occurs (in the U.S.) and endangers the people's health," Kim said May 19 at a nationally televised news conference. South Korea suspended imports of U.S. beef after the first American case of BSE appeared in December 2003 in a Canadian-born cow in Washington state. Restricted imports resumed last year but were put on hold in October after banned parts were found in a shipment. BSE fears have run high in South Korea after last month's import agreement scrapped nearly all the quarantine restrictions Seoul had imposed to guard against the disease. 5/26/08 Date: 5/22/08 Advertisement
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