By Michael Ha
Staff reporter

Legal and economic observers in Korea warned Wednesday that a revision in the law on the prevention of infectious diseases in cattle, if implemented, may cause major trade wars in the future.

They argued that the revised terms contain ``arbitrary bias'' that helps protect the current U.S. beef import deal.

The governing Grand National Party and the main opposition Democratic Party reached an agreement Tuesday on how to revise the law.

According to the new revision for the ``Act on the Prevention of Livestock Epidemics,'' if new mad caw cases are reported overseas, a mandatory five-year ban would go into effect on the country where the cases are discovered. The ban would cover beef from cattle older than 30 months.

Following the five-year ban, an official parliamentary approval would still be required to resume imports, according to the revision.

But it also states that regarding deals where official government notification has already been announced, imports would not be subject to the new stricter law and its trade terms.

One legal scholar, law professor Choi Won-mok at Ehwa Woman's University, told Korean media Wednesday that this in effect excludes U.S. beef imports from the revision.

The professor said the revision represents an ``arbitrary bias,'' in favor of the United States. He noted that the World Trade Organization specifically spells out that member nations cannot practice arbitrary bias when dealing with trade issues with similar circumstances.

The professor said this discrepancy in how the revision addresses different trading partners might prompt ``second, third trade wars'' with other countries.

Suh Jin-gyo, policy director for trade investment strategies at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, also voiced his concern that the clause requiring a national parliamentary approval before resuming imports may invite political trouble.

He told Korean media that this clause unnecessarily ties international trade policy issues to domestic politics. Suh warned that if the new revision were to be implemented, an important trade issue would be subject to volatile conditions in the country's political arena. ``This could create new trade conflicts with our trading partners. And new trading conflicts could lead to another wave of candlelit vigils."

michaelha@koreatimes.co.kr