By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
Korea and Canada look all but ready to give up efforts to settle a dispute through bilateral negotiations over allegations that Canadian beef is unfairly restricted in Korean markets.
Canada filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) in April. Canadian Vice Trade Minister Louis Levesque visited Korea as part of his Asian tour and talked to Seoul officials, but no significant progress was made, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The two countries have since been waiting for the other side to first make concessions but so far neither have shown any signs of doing so.
Ministry officials say they are ready to go to the WTO for a settlement, and have given no indication that they will make any concessions.
The Canadian complaint to the WTO came after Korea fully opened up its market to U.S. beef. Korea banned imports of Canadian beef in May 2003, after the report of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease there. Korea was the fourth-largest importer of Canadian beef in 2002, when Canada exported over $50 million, or 17,000 tons of beef to Korea. Since then, the North American country has reported 16 more confirmed cases of the brain-wasting cattle disease.
But the World Organization for Animal Health officially categorized Canada as a controlled risk country for BSE in 2007, clearing the way for it to export beef once again.
Now that the two sides have passed the June 6 deadline without reaching a compromise, Canada can request that the WTO establish a dispute panel, a trade court consisting of WTO member countries.
Once Canada files a request, the Dispute Settlement Body will set up within 60 days by the end of next month. This means that there is a still chance for a resolution through bilateral talks, but such a contingency has long odds.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Korea was not immediately available for comment, saying the issue is too sensitive to make a prompt response.