U.S. Trade Negotiator Urges Korea to Open Beef Market
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler, the chief U.S. negotiator in the Korea-U.S. FTA talks, smiles before addressing members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea at the Hyatt Hotel in Seoul on Tuesday. It was Cutler's first visit to Seoul since the trade pact was signed.
Wendy Cutler, the chief U.S. negotiator for the Seoul-Washington free trade agreement talks, said on Tuesday that the U.S. Congress has made it clear that Seoul must fully open its beef market if the trade pact with South Korea is to be considered.
Cutler made the remarks at a luncheon meeting at the Hyatt Hotel in Seoul hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea and a private sector Korea-U.S. FTA group. Key U.S. congressmen will not approve the trade pact unless Korea opens its beef market, Cutler said.
She said that resolution of the beef issue is needed urgently and she expects that Congress will ratify the deal during the first half of next year. Korea should open its market to all U.S. beef products from cattle of all ages, she urged, since the OIE, the international animal health agency, designated the U.S. a controlled risk country for mad cow disease in May.
American beef is safe, Cutler said, and the bone fragments that were discovered in shipments to Korea were found in less than 10 out of 600,000 boxes. "It is regrettable that some of the shipments violated the import protocol (between the two countries)," she said. "But it is very negligible by any calculation."
Asked about the possibility of additional FTA talks between the two countries, she said that no changes in the agreement are needed, nor should either side seek them. Cutler avoided commenting directly on U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton's statement that the deal needs to be renegotiated, but said that the White House believes that the deal will bring significant benefits, including the creation of new jobs.
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Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler, the chief U.S. negotiator in the Korea-U.S. FTA talks, smiles before addressing members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea at the Hyatt Hotel in Seoul on Tuesday. It was Cutler's first visit to Seoul since the trade pact was signed.
Wendy Cutler, the chief U.S. negotiator for the Seoul-Washington free trade agreement talks, said on Tuesday that the U.S. Congress has made it clear that Seoul must fully open its beef market if the trade pact with South Korea is to be considered.
Cutler made the remarks at a luncheon meeting at the Hyatt Hotel in Seoul hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea and a private sector Korea-U.S. FTA group. Key U.S. congressmen will not approve the trade pact unless Korea opens its beef market, Cutler said.
She said that resolution of the beef issue is needed urgently and she expects that Congress will ratify the deal during the first half of next year. Korea should open its market to all U.S. beef products from cattle of all ages, she urged, since the OIE, the international animal health agency, designated the U.S. a controlled risk country for mad cow disease in May.
American beef is safe, Cutler said, and the bone fragments that were discovered in shipments to Korea were found in less than 10 out of 600,000 boxes. "It is regrettable that some of the shipments violated the import protocol (between the two countries)," she said. "But it is very negligible by any calculation."
Asked about the possibility of additional FTA talks between the two countries, she said that no changes in the agreement are needed, nor should either side seek them. Cutler avoided commenting directly on U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton's statement that the deal needs to be renegotiated, but said that the White House believes that the deal will bring significant benefits, including the creation of new jobs.
([email protected] )