U.S. Agrees in Banning Exports of Old Beef

Representatives of Korea and the United States, who held their fourth and fifth rounds of the ministerial-level discussions on Wednesday and Thursday (local time) in Washington, have practically reached an agreement on the principle of preventing American beef from cattle 30 months old or more from entering the Korean market.

Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab had a private meeting for two hours on Wednesday afternoon before holding an official meeting in the evening for three hours.

When asked if the U.S. side agreed on the principle, Kim replied, “They were very cooperative. But we still have to fine-tune differences over technical matters. “

U.S. Trade Representative spokeswoman Gretchen Hamel said, “Although many issues remain, progress has been made. We shared a lot of information in an honest manner despite the fact that they are very sensitive and important matters.”

Kim and his counterpart Schwab held the fifth round of discussions at 8 a.m. Thursday. During the meeting, two sides reportedly agreed on the principle that American beef from cattle older than 30 months should not be shipped to Korea.

“The two sides could not narrow the differences over the level of the U.S. government intervention in guaranteeing meat from cattle over 30 months old not to enter the domestic market,” sources said. “As President Lee Myung-bak clearly established the principle through the national address, Korean negotiators engaged in the talks without having to worry out a tight deadline.”

The Korean side reportedly demanded the introduction of the export verification (EV) programs at the cattle slaughter and processing facilities exporting their meat to Korea, and the extension of the time for implementation to “when the concerns over the safety of U.S. beef disappear in an objective evaluation,” according to sources.

Meanwhile, the U.S. side insisted that the same level of effectiveness can be achieved if exporters voluntarily come up with effective measures to prevent beef from cattle older than 30 months from being imported to Korea, as tangible and intangible administrative disadvantages can be imposed to those who violate the voluntary regulations.

sechepa@donga.com