South Korea Friday announced a deal to open its market wider to US beef imports, soothing a major trade irritant just one day before the two countries' leaders meet for their first summit. Efforts to pass a sweeping free trade agreement (FTA) will top the summit agenda. US legislators had warned they will not approve it until the beef dispute, which costs their farmers hundreds of millions of dollars annually, is settled. “Both sides reached an agreement on gradual expansion of US beef imports,” Assistant Agriculture Minister Min Dong-Seok said in a televised statement. He said Seoul initially would allow the import of most cuts of beef, including ribs which are currently banned, from cattle aged under 30 months -probably from mid-May. Beef ribs accounted for more than half of all US beef imports before 2003. Imports from cattle aged 30 months or older will also be allowed when the US applies stricter controls over protein-based feed feared to cause mad cow disease, Min said. But some material deemed to carry a risk of spreading the disease will still be excluded. The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, in a statement before Seoul released details, strongly welcomed the beef deal and urged US legislators to ratify the free trade pact as soon as possible. South Korea was once the third largest market for US beef, with imports worth 850 million dollars a year before it banned them in 2003 due to mad cow fears. It eased the ban in 2006 but allowed only meat from cattle aged 30 months or less. It also excluded bones and other materials deemed to carry a risk of spreading the disease. Seoul suspended imports several times since 2006 after discovering banned material in shipments. It effectively halted all imports last October after backbones were discovered. It will still be allowed to suspend imports if there are serious violations of the rules or a new mad cow case is reported. __
