Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, today made the following statement in reaction to media reports that Korea is considering postponing the resumption of U.S.
beef imports. Korea earlier indicated that it planned to reopen its market this week to the importation of boneless U.S. beef from cattle aged 30 months and under. Korea banned imports of U.S. beef in December 2003 following the detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a cow in Washington state.
“I urge Korea to base its beef import policies on science and to move forward with its plans to resume imports of U.S. beef this week. U.S. beef is safe. Millions of Americans eat it every day.
There’s no reason Korean consumers should continue to be denied access to U.S. beef. Also, further delays to re-open the Korean market to U.S. beef could complicate negotiations of a U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. I can’t see the Congress passing implementing legislation for a trade agreement with a country that’s shutting out a perfectly safe U.S. product."
Source: Ranking Member’s News
