08/29/06 Cattlemen want Korean beef market open

American Rancher August 29, 2006 A team of South Korean officials were to arrive in the U.S. late last week for what was hoped to be a final round of discussions before the Asian nation resumes imports of U.S. beef. After several prolonged delays, projections now are that shipments of U.S. beef to Korea could start in early October. National Cattlemen's Beef Association President Mike John says U.S. cattlemen have waited long enough. John: "Well it has dragged on way too long. I get really tired of these political stonewalls and these non-scientific trade barriers that are out there. When you realize the two-way trade between our countries it seems ridiculous. Be that as it may, it shows the necessity for all countries that trade in beef to realize that we have to have a science based standard. That we have to have a way to make market access fair and free and reliable so that people that start filling these infrastructures can do so and know they won't get shutdown arbitrarily." If beef trade is resumed, NCBA supports free trade agreement talks with South Korea. U.S. beef currently faces Korean tariffs of about 40 percent and John says those tariffs need to be reduced over time and eventually eliminated. John: "In order to have a fair playing field and to be able to compete fairly with the quality of our product you have to lower those tariffs. They are absolutely critical to giving U.S. beef a fair shot to the Korean market." South Korea was once the 3rd largest importer of U.S. beef, trailing only Japan and Mexico. I'm Bob Hoff.