Seoul goes ahead with beef import plans
By Ocean on May 5, 2008 in Uncategorized
Brushing aside mounting calls to renegotiate the latest beef deal with Washington, Seoul said yesterday it will go ahead with resuming U.S. beef imports later this month.
The government earlier indicated that the latest deal is expected to take effect around May 15, enabling Seoul to restart quarantine inspections of U.S. beef and subsequently hand them over to importers for sale.
The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries ruled out the possibility of delaying the regulatory process, despite opposition from politicians and the public.
“It is a matter of mutual trust. Which county will negotiate with Korea if we renege on an agreement overnight?” a ministry official told The Korea Herald.
[Source]
(+1 rating, 1 votes)
Loading ...
I know a lot of my Korean friends are against this move and are not fond of the current president, who allowed this move to happen.
Andy | May 5, 2008 | Reply
Yes in a way I’m surprised Lee Myungbak was able to push it through. I remember last summer (I think) when protesters were throwing feces at vendors of US Beef, so let’s see how this pans out.
In terms of Free Markets and Free Trade, however, this is a good move. For those of you in Korea, you will remember when Kalbi used to cost KRW 5,000 a portion, while now it’s about KRW 20,000. Let’s hope this will push the prices back down again.
Ocean | May 5, 2008 | Reply
Huh, just a thought, but after reading the article, I began to wonder: when was the last time an American politician ever apologized formally over anything… aside from personal sex scandals that is.
Jason | May 8, 2008 | Reply