Korea, Canada to Hold Beef Talks This Week

(Korea Times – Kim Se-jeong)

Negotiators from Korea and Canada will meet this week in Geneva for consultations on the resumption of Canadian beef imports that the government had banned. Yonhap [news agency] reported Saturday that the two parties will sit down on May 7 in Geneva for consultations on the ban. The consultation is the first step in the World Trade Organization's (WTO) settlement procedure when a dispute occurs.

On April 9, the Canadian government called on the WTO to address South Korea's “unjustified” ban on the import of its beef, six year after Korea first halted shipments.

In a press release distributed through the Canadian Embassy in Seoul, Canadian International Trade Minister Stockwell Day said, “We are disappointed to have to launch this action, as we had hoped to resolve or differences through negotiations.” Day continued, “Canada has a robust trade relationship with South Korea, so it is unfortunate that we have not been able to settle this issue and reopen South Korean markets to Canadian beef.”

If the consultations fail to resolve the dispute within 60 days after the WTO received the request, Canada may request for the establishment of a panel to hear the case. The panel, consisting of three members, will undertake a confidential review of the dispute. Statistically speaking, the dispute has a chance to be resolved in the consultation stage, as the WTO said, “in July 2005 only about 130 cases of nearly 332 cases reached the panel stage.” Read more here.