Washington - USDA Secretary Dan Glickman expressed concern over South Korea's failure to honor an international commitment to import a minimum quantity of beef each year.
In a carefully worded letter to South Korean Agriculture Minister Kim Sung-Hoon, Glickman acknowledged the "current economic difficulties" facing South Korea.
Nonetheless, "we fully expect your government to honor its WTO commitments," he said.
South Korea fell an estimated 5,500 tonnes short of filling its 1997 beef import quota of 167,000 tonnes and is on an extremely slow pace to fill its 1998 quota of 187,000 tonnes.
During the first half of 1998, the Republic of Korea imported only 37,000 tonnes of beef, or about 20% of the 1998 quota level. Imports of U.S. beef for the first six months in 1998 were 18,593 tonnes, only 46% of imports of U.S. beef for the same period in 1997.
Glickman's criticism comes at a time when many farm-state members of Congress are calling for more vigorous enforcement of existing trade pacts before giving the administration the authority under proposed "fast track" trade legislation to forge new agreements.
It also coincides with current discussions between the two countries over the size of a GSM-102 export credit guarantee package to help South Korea buy U.S. farm goods in fiscal 1999, which begins October 1.
The Agriculture Department extended $1.5 billion in GSM-102 loan guarantees to South Korea in fiscal 1998. Of that total, South Korea quickly used the $160 million earmarked for meat to buy U.S. beef and a small amount of pork. But its beef purchases outside the program have not been as brisk.
"Failure to fill the import quota in 1997 and the low level of beef imports to date in 1998 are serious concerns for us," Glickman said, noting that the two governments are scheduled to meet this month for quarterly beef consultations.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
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