SENATOR SAYS BEEF DECISION IS IN SOUTH KOREA'S COURT
News Date June 20, 2008
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on June 11 spoke strongly against the South Korean government's recent posturing to renegotiate the beef deal it made with the U.S. in April. As the Senate Finance Committee Chairman, Baucus was a leading proponent of the deal that allows previously banned beef from cattle over 30 months of age into South Korea. The agreement helped Congress pass the broader free trade deal that was signed a year ago.
"The ball is in Korea's court," Baucus said, "We signed a deal. Both sides have to live up to the deal." The recently elected South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is coming under intense criticism from the Korean public over the deal signed two months ago. The agreement marked the first time the U.S. has had unrestricted access to the South Korean beef market since 2003 when mad cow disease was found for the first time in the U.S. Though it has been more than four years since the last case was discovered, many South Koreans still believe that U.S. beef is unsafe. Thousands marched in Seoul last week demanding Lee's resignation.
South Korea's trade minister planed to join other representatives in Washington to appeal for "substantial, efficient" measures to keep beef from cattle more than 30 months old out of the country. While some lawmakers are demonstrating willingness to consider changes, Sen. Baucus was not inclined to rethink the agreement. "Our beef is totally safe," he said in a recent press conference. "Korea has to decide what Korea wants to do. The ball is in their court." (Contact: Charlie Ingram or Justin Chambers)