From AgWeb:
If you don’t think you feel, my German grandmother always told me. Well in the case of the frustrating U.S. beef trade impasse with South Korea, it is the failure of the Bush administration to follow suggestions of the U.S. beef trade many months ago that, if followed, would have likely meant a lot of U.S. beef already sold to South Korea, and perhaps even to Japan, and thereby avoiding an international incident in South Korea that could yet topple the new South Korean president.
[...]
The U.S. beef industry suggestion on this matter was not followed. Over a year ago, U.S. beef industry officials virtually pleaded with the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office to take a two-phased approach to the beef trade issue: allow all beef products, including bone-in (but excluding Specified Risk Materials/SRMs), to be traded from animals 30 months of age or less. Phase two: allow specified products from animals over thirty months at a later date. In other words, phase in the OIE standards.
According to the post, the URTR and USDA rejected this since it would set a “dangerous precedent” and it would show policy was not following “the science.”
Read the rest on your own.
(HT to Oranckay)
24 Comments
The BBC is reporting that Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon is extending his stay in the US to continue talks with USTR Susan Schwab. It’s likely the agreement will be modified to exclude beef from cows older than 30 months. I wonder if this late change will be enough to stop the momentum of the demonstrations that have expanded beyond beef into a general anti-2MB movement.
No, it will not be. I’m calling it. People are much beyond protesting beef now, they are protesting the need to protest. Its meta-protesting now, and I have no idea what will stop it.
I seriously doubt if there will be any renegotiations since it was said more than once that it wouldn’t be renegotiated. It’s a signed deal.
ooh, Oranckay is still playing the liberal Tinkerbell fluttering around Roberts office. Good to see.
it will be renegotiated because america wants to sell to it’s largest market. sorry if no likee lanee.
as for the report, we finally have proof that all this is the result of bush and his insistance to treat a first world people as if they were third world people.
microsoft done learned that.
‘microsoft to korea: watch it!’ declared the expat who thought himself the most beautiful man on earth.
http://www.iht.com/articles/20.....owring.php
I knew this had to Bush’s fault! It was only a matter of time!
James’ link:
I bet Samsung just hates it when journalists out it as non-Japanese.
It may be a signed deal, but its not ratified by either US or Korea.
“According to the post, the URTR and USDA rejected this since it would set a ‘dangerous precedent’.”
That is funny. US and Japan agreed on December 12, 2005, that Japan allows importing US beef if the cattle from which the beef is made is 20 months old or younger.
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/2.....212-1c.pdf
(in Japanese)
Japan is watching carefully. They don’t want Korea to start importing US beef indiscriminately. Otherwise, they’ll also be under pressure to open up fully - and they don’t want to.
“Japan is watching carefully. They don’t want Korea to start importing US beef indiscriminately.”
Not really.Because we don’t have any white elephant named “FTA with the U.S”.
The mentioning of the word “Japan” is used almost paranoiac here.
Bush lied and Cows died!
‘we finally have proof that all this is the result of bush and his insistance to treat a first world people as if they were third world people.’ Pawi
That’s funny. Maybe if some of these morons started behaving in a civilised manner, they’d be treated better by bushee eh?
J,
There is nothing funny about it at all. The fact that the US and Japan have a deal that only allows beef under 20 months is completely irrelevant to the Korean situation. It is simply having the the safety standards of imported meat (statistically speaking) on par with that of domestic meat.
Allowing the arbitrary imposition of higher “safety” standards for imports (than domestic production) is a dangerous game for an economy reliant on exports. It is especially dangerous when there is no evidence to support such a claim.
Dangerous precedent indeed…
cm,
As stated above, there will be no valid pressure for the Japanese to fully open their market as long as they continue 100% testing on all domestic production. Cows under 20 months have a statistical probability of pretty much zero in having BSE which pretty much equals the standards Japan imposes on its’ domestic production.
Any attempt by the US to pressure Japan into fully opening the market would be a waste of time.
I don’t understand who they mean by “beef industry officials.”
Korea is a DEVELOPING nation…get over it all you draft dodgers who deserved to be called such. Sorry, but Korea ain’t a first world nation.
Korea is not Japan. Koreans need to realize this. Korea isn’t the US’s number one trading partner or even a fully developed country and doesn’t deserve to be treated as such.
Again, if Koreans don’t open their markets to other country’s goods equally, their goods shouldn’t be allowed into other country’s markets.
Time to grow up and stop being so selfish Korea.
If the Japanese want veal let them eat veal. Keeping their market closed to older beef only hurts them.
Probably the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
#18 Wedge
“If the Japanese want veal let them eat veal. Keeping their market closed to older beef only hurts them.”
Japanese consumers want the beef tested free of BSE. If US beef industry agrees to test cows older than 20 months, Japan will allow such import. Simple as that. Things get complicated since US beef industry adamantly refuses to test cows, in order to, I suspect, hide large number of BSE cows in the US.
#15 The Goat.
There is no scientific evidence that cows younger than 20 months are immune to BSE. So, there is no scientific evidence that they need not be tested.
US is categorized as a “controlled BSE risk country” by OIE.
http://www.oie.int/eng/info/en_statesb.htm
To export beef from “controlled” countries, the exporters must attest that “the cattle from which the fresh meat and meat products were derived passed ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections.” (Article 2.3.13.11. of Terrestrial Animal Health Code of OIE)
http://www.oie.int/eng/normes/.....2.3.13.htm
I wonder what kind of inspections do US producers have, if they have any.
J: “the US beef industry adamantly refuses to test cows, in order to, I suspect, hide large number of BSE cows in the US.”
Testing has already disproven that.
Just thought I’d share some interesting statistics with you from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_cow_disease
Country BSE cases vCJD cases
Austria 5 0
Belgium 125 0
Canada 10 1
Czech Republic 9 0
Denmark 15 0
Falkland Islands 1 0
Finland 1 0
France 900 11
Germany 312 0
Greece 1 0
Hong Kong 2 0
Israel 1 0
Italy 117 1
Japan 26 1
Liechtenstein 2 0
Luxembourg 2 1
Netherlands 75 2
Oman 2 0
Poland 21 0
Portugal 875 2
Republic of Ireland 1,353 4
Slovakia 15 0
Slovenia 7 0
Spain 412 2
Sweden 1 0
Switzerland 453 0
Thailand 2
United Kingdom 183,823 163
United States 3 3
Total 188,535 193
What was that about Aussie beef being safer because of grass feeding?
RETRACTION - That was Austria, not Australia. Australia gets a clean bill of health.
mizar5, for your reference,
US tested 764,000 cows and found 2 BSE, according to this article by USDA staff. The ratio is 1 in 382,000.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/o.....pose_x.htm
Japan tested 8,176,946 cows and found 21 BSE as of May 2008. The ratio is 1 in 389,378.
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/houdou/0110/h1018-6.html
The ratio is about the same. Since Japan tests all the cows before processing, Japanese beef is safer than US beef.