U.S. Demands S. Korea Resume Full Imports Of American Beef
SOUTH KOREA - The United States has officially called for South Korea to lift restrictions and import all parts of American beef in the aftermath of a global animal health body's conclusion that the beef poses a "controlled risk" for mad cow disease, the government said Sunday.According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Foreign Ministry received a letter Friday from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, requesting a revision of import conditions in line with the OIE's evaluation result.
"Now that we've received a request from the U.S., we will soon launch a risk assessment process" an Agriculture Ministry official said.
Officials say, however, that the OIE rating is not binding. South Korea can conduct an eight-step import risk analysis process, an importing nation's right granted by the World Trade Organization, before making a decision on a full resumption of beef imports.
Seoul banned American beef in December 2003 after a mad cow case was reported at a U.S. cattle farm. It had reached an agreement with Washington in January 2006 to reopen its market, but only to boneless beef from cattle under 30 months old.
Source: Yonhap News