Canada-Still no beef allowed into South Korea.

CANADA-SOFTLY SOFTLY WITH SOUTH KOREA.

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Assn. (CCA) is pleased with the federal government’s decision to initiate trade consultations with South Korea over its ban on Canadian beef products. Brad Wildemanm, CCA president, commended the trade and agriculture ministers for initiating the dispute settlement process at the World Trade Organization.

Unless settled by early June, Trade Minister Stockwell Day can request that WTO establish a dispute panel to hear the case.

"Canadian beef meets all of the requirements for full market access, according to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), yet Korea has continuously stalled restoration of Canada ’s access. Particularly galling with Korea ’s ongoing border closure is the fact that they accept beef from the U.S. , which shares the same OIE status as Canada ," Wildemanm said in a statement.

American beef gained access to the Korean market in June 2008, a month after OIE confirmed "controlled-risk" status for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) for the U.S. and Canada.

More than 50 countries have lifted restrictions on Canadian beef following the OIE designation. Korea has not, banning Canadian beef since 2003, when Canada found its first native-born case of BSE. In 2002, the last full year of normal trade, Korea was Canada ’s third-largest export market for beef, taking around $45 million (Canadian) worth of product.