Senator Roberts to Korean Ambassador Lee: End Obstacles to Normal Beef Trade with U.S.
Senator Roberts to Korean Ambassador Lee: End Obstacles to Normal Beef Trade with U.S.
U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today said Korea must open markets to U.S. beef or jeopardize future trade opportunities with the United States. Roberts made the remarks in a Senate Finance Committee meeting with Ambassador Lee Tae-sik of the Republic of Korea.
This action is the latest in a series of efforts by Senator Roberts as a new member of the Finance Committee and a senior member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry. From his position on both Committees, Roberts offers unique leadership for Kansas, where the beef industry is one of the largest industries in the state- representing over $5 billion in annual revenue. The Finance Committee has jurisdiction on all trade agreements.
At issue is Korea's recent rejection of the first three shipments of beef from the United States, including one from a Kansas company, due to the discovery of a bone fragment the size of a grain of rice.
"There must be a workable agreement on the issue of bone tolerances in beef shipments. A zero tolerance level is unrealistic and serves as a barrier to trade," Senator Roberts said.
Safeguards in place by the U.S. Department of Agriculture prohibit the inclusion of Specified Risk Materials (SRMs) in shipments of beef and are consistent with the World Animal Health Organization's (OIE) international standards. Bone fragments are not considered a risk material.
"Rejecting beef shipments based on the presence of a bone fragment is a disproportionate response on an issue that is not a threat to food safety," Roberts said.
Last month, Senator Roberts joined a bipartisan group of Senators in sending a letter to U.S. trade officials urging them to suspend all negotiations on free trade agreements with South Korea unless they open their markets to U.S. beef and both countries agree on reasonable and fair bone tolerance levels for future shipments.
Senator Roberts is a key member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
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