U.S. demands to include beef and bird flu issues as part of the ongoing free trade agreement talks are adversely affecting key negotiations from moving forward, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said Monday.
It said sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) talks planned for Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington have been put on hold because the two sides have failed to reach an understanding on the agendas to be discussed.
SPS negotiations are an integral part of the free trade agreement (FTA) because they deal with sanitary conditions for the import of various agricultural products.
The ministry said the United States is insisting that beef be included as part of the FTA package, while South Korea said it should be discussed separately.
Seoul reopened its beef market to Washington in September, ending a three-year import ban. South Korea, however, has turned back three shipments of U.S. beef following the discovery of bone fragments in the packages, which violates a bilateral agreement reached in January.
In addition, the ministry said Washington's demand to include the easing of import bans on poultry products during bird flu outbreaks in the FTA talks cannot be accepted.
The United States said an outbreak of bird flu in a particular area should not affect other regions.
South Korea and many other countries ban imports of poultry from an entire country if a single case of bird flu is discovered.
The agriculture ministry said it will continue to separate beef and bird flu issues from FTA talks and SPS negotiations in January.
Seoul, Dec. 18 (Yonhap News)
U.S. demands on beef affecting FTA talks |
