Korea To resume US beef import
"Give up quarantine sovereignty"
Jo Tae-Guen
입력 2007-08-26 09:07:47 수정 2007-08-29 14:40:16
Korea announced, on Aug. 24, the resumption of quarantine inspections of U.S. beef, which were halted after the detection of specific risk materials, or SRM, in a shipment arrived on 27 July. Korean official also said that it will start negotiations with the U.S. administration to revise Korea’s sanitary and phytosanitary regulations, or SPS, prohibiting imports of bone-in beef.
Korea's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said on Friday it will resume inspections on Aug. 27.
"While quarantine inspections on American beef are to start again, the current ban will be maintained on the four meat processing centers that shipped ribs, while Seoul has revoked the export permit from the one that shipped backbones," said Lee Sang kil, head of the ministry's livestock bureau.
Seoul halted inspections of American beef on Aug. 1 after discovering banned beef backbones in shipments that arrived on July 29. Suspending inspections meant no new supplies of U.S. beef for the market, although shipments could still arrive in the country.
In a written explanation sent to the ministry on August 16, U.S. authorities said that in the process of packaging the beef, there were machines found to have been out of order and employees had mistakenly packed meat, normally used for T-bone steaks designated for U.S. consumption, into broken boxes that were eventually shipped to South Korea. It also siad that they would take special measures to prevent such incidents from recurring.
And the ministry in Seoul has accepted the U.S. explanation without making any further local examinations.
Anti-FTA groups say that the government’s fast resumption of quarantine inspections means that it gives up its “quarantine sovereignty. Moreover, Seoul will likely permit imports of beef ribs that still carry risk factors for mad cow disease.
“As far as I know, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry proposed a bill that would impose powerful penalties on U.S. beef, but the penalty was weakened following the objections of the Ministry of Finance and Economy.", the Korean Democratic Labor Party’s Rep. Kang Ki-gap said.
Korea's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said on Friday it will resume inspections on Aug. 27.
"While quarantine inspections on American beef are to start again, the current ban will be maintained on the four meat processing centers that shipped ribs, while Seoul has revoked the export permit from the one that shipped backbones," said Lee Sang kil, head of the ministry's livestock bureau.
Seoul halted inspections of American beef on Aug. 1 after discovering banned beef backbones in shipments that arrived on July 29. Suspending inspections meant no new supplies of U.S. beef for the market, although shipments could still arrive in the country.
In a written explanation sent to the ministry on August 16, U.S. authorities said that in the process of packaging the beef, there were machines found to have been out of order and employees had mistakenly packed meat, normally used for T-bone steaks designated for U.S. consumption, into broken boxes that were eventually shipped to South Korea. It also siad that they would take special measures to prevent such incidents from recurring.
And the ministry in Seoul has accepted the U.S. explanation without making any further local examinations.
Anti-FTA groups say that the government’s fast resumption of quarantine inspections means that it gives up its “quarantine sovereignty. Moreover, Seoul will likely permit imports of beef ribs that still carry risk factors for mad cow disease.
“As far as I know, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry proposed a bill that would impose powerful penalties on U.S. beef, but the penalty was weakened following the objections of the Ministry of Finance and Economy.", the Korean Democratic Labor Party’s Rep. Kang Ki-gap said.
Jo Tae-Guen
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