4688

Korea Flexible on US Beef Import


A senior agriculture official said Wednesday that the government could maintain its policy to allow only boneless U.S. beef by accepting the United States' demand to abolish a 40-percent tariff on imported beef.

His remarks came after South Korea and the U.S. failed to narrow differences on the issue of Korea’s quarantine of American beef, which could be a critical deal breaker in free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the U.S.

``We are willing to resolve the quarantine issue in exchange for the U.S. demand to eliminate the 40 percent tariff on its beef shipments,’’ Min Dong-seok, assistant vice minister for agriculture and forestry, told an MBC radio program.

U.S. negotiators have continued to say that there would be no FTA if Korea does not import U.S. beef unconditionally _ deboned or containing bone.

Min, however, ruled out the possibility that Korea will propose a ``big deal’’ between the beef quarantine issue and automobiles or textiles. ``Big deals could happen in the agriculture or beef issue. But we’re not considering concessions in other FTA sectors.’’


# The Korea Times [March 15, 2007]

By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter