Korea Says renegotiating on US beef hurts ties

Tag: Beef Meat South Korean President Lee Myung Bak said renegotiating a recent agreement to resume importing U.S.beef imports might provoke trade friction. Backing out of the beef deal may affect the nation's exports to theU.S., including cars and semiconductors, Lee said at a meetingyesterday with leaders of a local Buddhist community, according tohis spokesman Lee Dong Kwan . South Korea was the third-biggest buyer of U.S. beef before banningthe meat in December 2003 on concern mad cow disease, also known asbovine spongiform encephalopathy, could harm public health. Thegovernment postponed a resumption of beef imports on June 2, itsthird delay since an April agreement to end the ban. ``Any renegotiation may mean a breakdown in trust between the twocountries,'' said Suh Jin Kyo , a research fellow at the Korea Institute for InternationalEconomic Policy. ``Washington could demand renegotiation of othertrade deals with Seoul. South Korea must weigh the advantages anddisadvantages of such a move.'' The U.S. is South Korea's second-largest export market after China,with shipments of all categories of goods totaling $45.8 billion in2007. Imports from the U.S. last year reached $37.2 billion. South Korea bought 246,595 tons of U.S. beef valued at $815 millionin 2003, the most behind Japan and Mexico, according to the U.S.Meat Export Federation. There have been no reports of mad-cowinfected cases among South Korean cattle. ``Considering the concerns of South Korean consumers, both sidesshould find ways to ease the worries about U.S. beef,'' Suh said. Agriculture Minister Chung Woon Chun said on June 3 South Korea hadasked the U.S. not to export beef from cattle aged 30 months andolder. Local protesters said the request won't ease public fears asit isn't legally binding. Lee telephoned President George W. Bush at Camp David, Maryland, today to convey the public's concerns andasked for his cooperation to ensure meat from older cattle wasn'texported to Korea. During the 20-miniute conversation, Bush said he``fully understands'' the concerns and will make sure ``not toexport what should not be included in shipments,'' according to astatement on the Korean Presidential Office's Web site.