Seoul, Korea - South Korea said the United States took beef trade issues against South Korea to the World Trade Organization, asking for bilateral talks under the WTO.
Geneva-based U.S. trade ambassador Rita Hayes sent a letter to South Korean trade ambassador Chang Man-soon and to Karnel Morjane, chairman of the WTO/DSB (dispute settlement body) saying South Korea's beef importation system was discriminatory, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The letter asked for bilateral talks under the WTO/DSB, the statement said. If an agreement is not reached within 60 days, Washington can demand a WTO panel be set up to decide the case.
The ministry said it did not mind the dispute being heard by the WTO because South Korea had already planned to open its beef market anyway by January 2001.
It said settling trade disputes at the WTO can take a year and a half.
“So it would be better for South Korea to get the result from the WTO panel, instead of accepting the U.S. demands during the bilateral talks,” the statement said.
Washington says South Korea discriminates against imported beef and its limitations on licenses were against WTO rules.
The Agriculture and Forestry Ministry said on Monday it had failed to reach a settlement on the beef issue with the United States at talks in Washington on January 26-30.
The ministry said the United States had asked that South Korea carry forward 42,000 tonnes of beef from the 1998 beef import quota to the 1999 import quota set at 206,000 tonnes.
Korea imported just 145,000 tonnes of beef from its 187,000 tonne quota in 1998 as domestic demand for imported beef collapsed amid a severe recession.
The ministry said the government had no obligation to add the 1998 remainder to the 1999 import quota since the fall in beef imports was due to the recession and not trade barriers.
South Korea has rejected Washington's demand to reduce the current 42% tariff on imported beef because the tariff was a result of negotiation at the Uruguay Round and approved by the WTO, the statement said.
To protect local consumers, South Korea also could not accept a U.S. demand to abolish the imported beef sales system, under which only designated stores can sell imported beef.
The system was set up after some stores illegally sold imported beef under domestic meat labels.
The United States also asked Seoul to distribute this year's import quota of 206,000 tonnes of beef through a lottery or a “first come, first served” basis rather than an auction.
But South Korea would maintain the auction system as the best way to fairly distribute the import quota to the private sector, the agriculture ministry statement said.
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