The Hanwoo Association, a nonprofit overseeing Korea’s beef industry, has strongly opposed lifting the 2008 ban on imports of US beef from cattle over 30 months old, citing potential public unease over mad cow disease.
In a statement released Wednesday, the association warned on behalf of Korean livestock farmers that scrapping the 30-month restriction could lead to the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, which in turn could dampen the consumption of both US and Korean beef, known as hanwoo in Korean.
Their opposition was triggered earlier this week when the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association called on the Office of the United States Trade Representative to ease the 30-month age-based restriction on US beef. A USTR report last year also described the 30-month limit as a transitional measure, suggesting the need for further import liberalization.
Yet, Korean livestock farmers remain wary, the Hanwoo Association said, arguing that mad cow disease remains a highly sensitive issue in Korea. They pointed out that the US has reported seven BSE cases — the most recent in May 2023 — and said that Korea’s high volume of US beef imports is due to strict adherence to the 2008 agreement, rather than in spite of it.
Amid an economic slump, the association also voiced worries that lifting non-tariff barriers like the cattle age restriction would further strain struggling Hanwoo farmers.
In 2008, Korea and the US reached an agreement to allow only US beef from cattle under 30 months old to assuage public fears over BSE.
Korea currently imports more beef from the US than anywhere else. Among $3.95 billion worth of beef imports from abroad last year, US beef accounted for 56.8 percent of the total, according to the Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute.
As of Thursday, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs stated that the Korean government has not received any formal complaints or demands from the US regarding the 30-month restriction, and no concrete discussions were currently underway.
By No Kyung-min (minmin@heraldcorp.com)
