By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
A bilateral high-ranking official meeting between South Korea and the United States on resuming U.S. beef imports took place Friday in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province.
Seven Korean officials represented by Assistant Agriculture Minister Min Dong-seok will discuss the meat hygiene issue with their U.S. counterparts, led by Ellen Terpstra, chief agricultural negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and deputy under secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services.
The talks have been resumed since the two parties failed to reach an agreement in their first meeting in October due to differing positions on standards.
The U.S. has consistently asked for completely open access to the Korean beef market as a precondition for ratification of the Free Trade Agreement, along with changes to regulations in the kinds of cuts to be allowed as imports.
South Korea, on the other hand, hinted that it could allow bone-in-beef products, such as ribs, but needs to maintain current quarantine processes and the age limit of 30 months on cattle slaughtered for exports.
It banned U.S. beef imports in 2003 when a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, more commonly known as mad cow disease, was confirmed in the U.S. Imports resumed last year but were halted after bone pieces were found in some meat shipped here.
President Lee Myung-bak is scheduled to have talks with U.S. President George W. Bush next week at Camp David. Claims are increasing that Korea will have to soften its stern stance since both countries are in a hurry to show bring matters to a conclusion.
These talks, however, are facing sudden obstacles in the U.S. Congress.
On Thursday, the Democratic-led House voted 224-195 to deny a rule forcing the legislative body to vote on the agreement within 60 days after its submission to Congress, which upset the Bush administration.
``Today's unprecedented and unfortunate action by the House of Representatives ... is damaging to our economy, our national security, and our relations with an important ally,'' Bush was quoted as saying in a statement after the decision.
U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab also condemmed the outcome, saying it would make the administration ``think twice'' about FTA deals with South Korea.