SEOUL - SOUTH Korea has agreed to open up to US beef imports after Washington pledged to raise safety standards, boosting prospects for a sweeping trade deal ahead of a summit between leaders of the allies.
Yesterday's move removes a big obstacle to US congressional approval of the trade deal, the biggest since the North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994.
Seoul's Agriculture Ministry yesterday said revived imports are expected to begin next month.
Seoul will first allow in US beef from cattle younger than 30 months, including cuts with bones. Younger cows are believed to be less at risk for mad cow disease.
Beef from older cattle will also be cleared for imports after the US strengthens controls on feed to reduce chances of infection.
South Korea's chief negotiator Min Dong Seok said resolving the beef issue would help strengthen ties between the two countries.
'The beef issue has been a factor that caused distrust between South Korea and the US,' he told reporters.
Seoul also agreed not to immediately halt imports even if a new case of mad cow disease is found in the US, he said.
Instead, Seoul would only move to halt imports if the World Organisation for Animal Health downgrades its safety rating for US cattle. The organisation determined last year the US was a 'controlled risk nation', a category that means countries can export beef regardless of the animal's age - adding to pressure on Seoul to lift its import ban.
Once the third-largest import market for US beef, South Korea imposed a blanket ban on American imports in 2003 following an outbreak of mad cow disease in the US.
It later eased the ban by allowing imports of boneless beef from cattle younger than 30 months.
Yesterday's pact comes just hours before South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, in the US on his first overseas trip since taking office in February, was to meet US President George W. Bush.
The two leaders are expected to discuss North Korea's nuclear ambitions and trade and military cooperation.
US lawmakers have said a landmark trade pact the two countries struck about a year ago would be scuttled unless South Korea opened its market fully to US beef.
Analysts estimate the deal, which needs approval by legislatures in both countries, could boost two-way, US$78 billion (S$106 billion) annual trade by about US$20 billion.
But even after the beef deal, a free trade pact faces stiff opposition from the two Democratic presidential candidates, senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who have concerns about the openness of Seoul's auto market.
In South Korea, Mr Lee and his conservative Grand National Party (GNP) hope Parliament will ratify the trade deal in a session that runs for about a month from April 25, a GNP official said.
