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TSCRA Daily News Update, April 18, 2008
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is scheduled to arrive Friday afternoon for a weekend visit with President Bush at Camp David. A joint press conference is planned for Saturday. A delegation of U.S.trade negotiators have been in Seoul since last week to work out the deal. Prior to December 2003, South Korea represented the third-largest market for U.S.beef and beef variety meat exports valued annually at $815 million. In September 2006, Korea finally agreed to accept U.S. boneless beef from cattle less than 30 months of age. But this market reopening was never viable for U.S. beef producers because it excluded bone-in beef products, which are popular with Korean consumers. In October 2007, Korean officials put a ban on all U.S.beef products until a new set of quarantine conditions could be established. "We are hopeful that this deal will allow for the export of ALL U.S. beef products to Korean accordance with OIE guidelines," says NCBA's Chief Economist Gregg Doud. "Bone-in beef and variety meats historically accounted for roughly half of the total value of U.S. beef exports to South Korea." "Today, South Korea represents at least a $1 billion market for us. It's time for Korea to move past this unscientific trade ban and accept products based on international guidelines," says Doud. The move to normalize beef trade with Korea will restore a very lucrative market for U.S.cattle producers and will also pave the way for consideration of the long-pending U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Signed in June 2007, the FTA has been tabled by U.S.lawmakers until the beef issue is resolved.
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