U.S. beef industry supports Korea FTA amid restricted shipments

By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. beef industry said Thursday that it supports the ratification of the pending free-trade deal with South Korea.

Joel Haggard, senior vice president of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF),
fell short of commenting on whether it will take issue with South Korea's ban on
shipments of beef from cattle older than 30 months.
"I know related industry associations have come out and supported the Korea Free
Trade Agreement. The Free Trade Agreement also offers access and benefits for our
products. So again, we fully support it," Haggard told a news conference at the
Foreign Press Center in downtown Washington. "I am not aware of any effort to ask
Korea to reopen the beef agreement."
U.S. officials and members of congress have called on South Korea to lift its ban
on imports of U.S. beef from older cattle and address concerns over what they
call an imbalance in auto trade before congressional approval of the Korea Free
Trade Agreement signed in 2007.
"Korea must find a way to accept all American beef from cattle of all ages. Then,
properly, I believe that the United States-Korea trade agreement could serve as a
cornerstone of a broader economic agenda that embraces the dynamism of Asia,"
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana) said recently.
Haggard, however, said that what U.S. beef exporters are now focusing on is to
re-establish consumer confidence in the South Korean market after a 2003
occurrence of mad cow disease in the U.S., which resulted in the suspension of
U.S. beef exports to South Korea.
Seoul and Washington agreed to limit shipments of beef from cattle less than 30
months old, after the resumption of U.S. beef imports caused a public outcry in
South Korea last year on health concerns.
U.S. beef regained its status as the biggest-selling product in South Korea
against Korean and Australian beef just months after full-scale imports began
again late last year.
Haggard, however, said he was not satisfied.
Since re-entering the South Korean market in the fall of 2008, "progress to date
is substantial," he said. "But we are never satisfied. We are never enough. We
have a lot of work to rebuild consumer confidence. That's our objective, that's
our responsibility as suppliers."
Haggard was discussing the arrangement made last summer between South Korea and
the U.S. that the Korean market will be reopened to U.S. beef from cattle older
than 30 months once consumer confidence has been rebuilt.
"We face challenges of getting Korean consumer acceptability for the range of
products accepted now," he said. "So I would say, for the U.S., a near-term
challenge is really ensuring we can maximize our exports under current import
conditions."
U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the Korea FTA "will enhance
prosperity for the peoples of the two countries."
Obama also agreed in London last month to work closely with South Korean
President Lee Myung-bak to "chart a way forward."
Lee will visit Washington June 16 for a summit meeting with Obama to discuss the
FTA and other issues of mutual concern.
South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon met with U.S. Trade Representative Ron
Kirk last week and said they agreed to "find a solution as soon as possible,
although we have some difficulties."
Kim also said he made it clear to Kirk that it is "not appropriate to touch the
text of the deal."
U.S. officials have said they would prefer to address the concerns in side
agreements, without revising the text of the deal itself.
Kirk said Tuesday that he would not set a timeframe for the presentation of the
Korea FTA, saying "it depends on negotiations."
South Korea's parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and trade has approved
the pact, signaling possible ratification during a plenary session in June.