Korea Agrees To Fuller Reopening Of U.S. Beef
Trade
U.S. and South Korean trade officials announced
agreement this morning to a trade protocol that
initially will allow for the shipment of all U.S. beef
products (boneless and bone-in beef, as well as
variety meats) from animals under 30 months of
age. And Korea calls it a first step toward accepting
all U.S. beef products from animals of all ages as
directed by the World Organization for Animal
Health (OIE) guidelines.
Currently only U.S. boneless products from cattle
less than 30 months of age are allowed into South
Korea. Trade under the new rules will resume in
mid May, a release from the National Cattlemen’s
Beef Association (NCBA) says. But Yonhap News
reported Korean government officials as saying
that: “if the deal goes into effect immediately, U.S.
beef could be imported under the new rules within
this month, because there are already meat
processing companies that are permitted to ship
beef to South Korea.”
Prior to discovery of BSE in the U.S. in December
2003, South Korea was the third-largest market for
U.S. beef and beef variety meat exports, valued
annually at $815 million; about 60% of it was bone-
in product – beef ribs. In September 2006, Korea
finally agreed to accept U.S. boneless beef from
cattle less than 30 months of age.
Gregg Doud, NCBA chief economist, says South
Korea potentially represents a $1 billion market and
could grow to be the top customer for U.S. beef.
Reopening of beef trade had been cast by some U.S.
lawmakers as a precondition to ratification of the
Korea-U.S. free-trade agreement (KORUS-FTA)
pact inked between the two countries last spring.
See a summary of the measure at:
www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Fact_Sheet
s/2007/asset_upload_file939_11034.pdf.
But Democrats have postured against passage of
KORUS-FTA, and free-trade agreements, in
general. In fact, last week, Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi essentially killed the U.S.-Colombia
free-trade measure, which upon implementation
would have totally removed tariffs on more than
70% of the $1.2 billion in U.S. ag products shipped
annually into Colombia, with the remaining tariffs
eliminated within 15 years. Currently 99.9% of
Colombian food and ag exports enter into the U.S.
duty-free while no U.S. ag exports to Colombia
receive such duty-free treatment.
KORUS-FTA would be the biggest trade deal since
1994’s North American Free Trade Agreement.
Under KORUS-FTA, roughly $1.91 billion, or 64%,
of U.S. ag imports into Korea will be immediately
duty-free, with most remaining tariffs and quotas
phased out over 10 years. In industrial goods,
nearly 95% of bilateral trade in consumer and
industrial products will be duty-free within three
years of implementation, with virtually all remaining
tariffs eliminated within 10 years.
Read more on the Korea-U.S. beef agreement in
this Reuters report:
www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSSEO276867
20080418?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
And this report from the U.S. Meat Export
Federation: www.usmef.org/viewemail.asp?
contentID=15532&password=D106169B1E.
-- Joe Roybal
Trade
U.S. and South Korean trade officials announced
agreement this morning to a trade protocol that
initially will allow for the shipment of all U.S. beef
products (boneless and bone-in beef, as well as
variety meats) from animals under 30 months of
age. And Korea calls it a first step toward accepting
all U.S. beef products from animals of all ages as
directed by the World Organization for Animal
Health (OIE) guidelines.
Currently only U.S. boneless products from cattle
less than 30 months of age are allowed into South
Korea. Trade under the new rules will resume in
mid May, a release from the National Cattlemen’s
Beef Association (NCBA) says. But Yonhap News
reported Korean government officials as saying
that: “if the deal goes into effect immediately, U.S.
beef could be imported under the new rules within
this month, because there are already meat
processing companies that are permitted to ship
beef to South Korea.”
Prior to discovery of BSE in the U.S. in December
2003, South Korea was the third-largest market for
U.S. beef and beef variety meat exports, valued
annually at $815 million; about 60% of it was bone-
in product – beef ribs. In September 2006, Korea
finally agreed to accept U.S. boneless beef from
cattle less than 30 months of age.
Gregg Doud, NCBA chief economist, says South
Korea potentially represents a $1 billion market and
could grow to be the top customer for U.S. beef.
Reopening of beef trade had been cast by some U.S.
lawmakers as a precondition to ratification of the
Korea-U.S. free-trade agreement (KORUS-FTA)
pact inked between the two countries last spring.
See a summary of the measure at:
www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Fact_Sheet
s/2007/asset_upload_file939_11034.pdf.
But Democrats have postured against passage of
KORUS-FTA, and free-trade agreements, in
general. In fact, last week, Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi essentially killed the U.S.-Colombia
free-trade measure, which upon implementation
would have totally removed tariffs on more than
70% of the $1.2 billion in U.S. ag products shipped
annually into Colombia, with the remaining tariffs
eliminated within 15 years. Currently 99.9% of
Colombian food and ag exports enter into the U.S.
duty-free while no U.S. ag exports to Colombia
receive such duty-free treatment.
KORUS-FTA would be the biggest trade deal since
1994’s North American Free Trade Agreement.
Under KORUS-FTA, roughly $1.91 billion, or 64%,
of U.S. ag imports into Korea will be immediately
duty-free, with most remaining tariffs and quotas
phased out over 10 years. In industrial goods,
nearly 95% of bilateral trade in consumer and
industrial products will be duty-free within three
years of implementation, with virtually all remaining
tariffs eliminated within 10 years.
Read more on the Korea-U.S. beef agreement in
this Reuters report:
www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSSEO276867
20080418?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
And this report from the U.S. Meat Export
Federation: www.usmef.org/viewemail.asp?
contentID=15532&password=D106169B1E.
-- Joe Roybal
Comment