South Korea reiterated its stance on Wednesday that it would not hold talks on scrapping age limits on U.S. beef imports.
Last week, South Korea and the U.S. reached a final agreement in their free trade accord, focusing on U.S. demands that South Korea soften its automotive safety and environmental standards, thus helping the free trade accord signed in 2007 win parliamentary approval in both countries.
But neither country discussed beef trade, one of the sticking points that has blocked ratification of the free trade pact in both countries.
"It is our government's firm position that we will stick to the 2008 agreement on beef trade," Choi Seok-young, South Korea's deputy minister for
trade, said in a weekly briefing.
South Korea imports beef only from cattle less than 30 months old due to fear of mad cow disease. The United States reported three cases of the
disease between 2003 and 2006. In response, Seoul banned imports of U.S.
beef in 2003 before resuming them in late 2008, which led to months of street rallies.
Washington has been pressing Seoul to further open its beef market. But South Korea reiterated that the beef trade is not related to their bilateral trade deal.
U.S. beef exports to South Korea reached US$216 million last year, making South Korea the fourth-largest importer of U.S. beef products, according to industry statistics.