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WASHINGTON: The United States and South Korea were "close" to reaching a "path forward" in their effort to salvage a controversial US beef import deal after days of talks, a US trade spokeswoman said Thursday.
US Trade Representative Susan Schwab and South Korean counterpart Kim Jong-Hoon will consult with their governments after holding several hours of talks in Washington since last week, said spokeswoman Gretchen Hamel.
"Since last Friday, they have discussed the technical issues and exchanged views on a path leading to the reopening of the Korean beef market, and help restore Korean consumer confidence in US beef," Hamel said in a statement.
"We have made good progress this week and are close to reaching a mutually agreeable path forward," she added.
Kim was heading back to Seoul Thursday, Hamel said, adding that the ministers would stay in contact in the coming days.
South Korea halted imports of US beef in 2003 after the first confirmed case of mad cow disease in the United States, and the two countries hammered out a deal in April to resume all shipments ahead of a wider free-trade pact.
But a wave of protests has put President Lee Myung-Bak, whose approval rating has plummeted quickly since he took office in February, under pressure to scrap the agreement.
Both governments see the risk of mad-cow disease as minimal, and the deal was meant to clear the way for the free-trade agreement that was signed a year ago and is pending ratification by their legislatures.
Lee apologized to South Koreans on Thursday for the second time in a month over his government's handling of the beef deal, and vowed to secure firm US guarantees against any danger of mad cow disease.
Seoul wants the US government to secure a voluntary agreement by US exporters not to export older cattle, seen as potentially more at risk for the disease. - AFP/ac
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