Negotiations over Resumption of U.S. Beef Imports to Begin Tomorrow

The second round of expert meetings between Korea and U.S. that will discuss whether the Korean government should resume importing U.S. beef since the discovery of mad cow disease in the U.S. will be held this week.

With Taiwan, which has lifted its ban on the imports of U.S. beef, and Japan, which is considering resuming beef imports from the U.S., Korea is expected to be under greater pressure from the U.S. government.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on April 17, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) experts from Korea and the U.S. will have a discussion centered primarily on the security of U.S. beef at meeting of experts at the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service in Anyang City, Gyeonggi Province, starting April 19 to 21.

It’s forecasted that the participators will have more practical discussions at this meeting than at the first round of talks on February 28 after the U.S. increased the rank of its representative by dispatching Chuck Lambert, deputy undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to the meeting.

Chang-Won Kim changkim@donga.com