Importing US Beef Over 30 Months?… Song Miryeong: "Ensuring Public Safety and National Interest Is the Principle"

At the Press Briefing on the 18th
"No Official Request from the U.S. Government Regarding Tariffs or Non-Tariff Measures on Agricultural Products"
"Response to Be Led by the Agriculture and Food Sector Task Force"

Song Mi-ryeong, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated on the 18th, "We will uphold the principle of responding in a way that does not cause any harm to public health and safety, national interests, or economic aspects under any circumstances." This was her way of clarifying the Korean government's response direction as the concern grows that U.S. trade pressure might expand to the agriculture and livestock sectors.

On the same day, after visiting the mobile medical bus site in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, Minister Song held a press briefing nearby and said, "We need to approach (negotiations with the U.S.) cautiously."

On the 18th, Song Mi-ryeong, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, is speaking at a press briefing held in Pocheon, Gyeonggi.

Recently, the U.S. National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) requested the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to "improve the import restrictions on U.S. beef over 30 months in Korea." In the 'National Trade Estimate Report (NTE)' published last year, USTR described the export of beef under 30 months agreed upon with Korea as a "transitional measure," effectively indicating the need to allow imports. Korea currently permits only the import of U.S. beef under 30 months due to concerns about mad cow disease. This was agreed upon by the governments of Korea and the U.S. after long-term negotiations in 2008.

Regarding this, Minister Song said, "The U.S. government has not officially communicated with the Korean government about the agricultural sector yet," and added, "We plan to carefully monitor the Trump administration's stance through the agriculture and food sector response task force (TF) and respond prudently."

Minister Song plans to actively promote the expansion of K-Food exports. To this end, she will visit Singapore and Vietnam consecutively this week. She explained, "Singapore and Vietnam account for half of Korea's agricultural and food exports to Asia, and Vietnam is a major export country not only for agricultural products but also for K-Smart Farm and K-Agricultural Machinery. Especially, Singapore, with its high income level and rice as a staple food but no domestic agriculture, is an optimal starting point for exporting Korea's premium agricultural products."

During this trip, Minister Song will meet with Vietnam's Minister of Agriculture and Singapore's Food Agency Director to discuss ways to expand Korean exports and listen to difficulties faced by Korean export companies. In particular, in Singapore, there are plans to vigorously promote traditional liquor made from K-rice to expand Korean rice consumption.

To prevent further spread of foot-and-mouth disease, which occurred domestically for the first time in one year and ten months since May 2023, rapid vaccination is being promoted. Minister Song emphasized, "Vaccinations in the Jeonnam region will be completed within a week, and nationwide within two weeks. Considering that it takes about a week for antibodies to form after vaccination, the spread of foot-and-mouth disease depends on the speed of vaccination."

At the briefing, Minister Song also introduced key points of the 5th Basic Plan for Improving the Quality of Life of Farmers and Fishermen, to be announced next week, and the development direction of the animal pharmaceutical industry. This Basic Plan for Quality of Life includes economic revitalization and job creation, improvement of rural residential conditions and expansion of living population, and minimizing blind spots in public and living services. The core of the animal pharmaceutical development plan is strengthening research and development, deregulation, and expanding export support. Minister Song said, "To revitalize the economy and create jobs, we aim to foster regionally specialized industries and resolve various related regulations. We are considering designating towns and townships at high risk of extinction as 'rural opportunity development zones' to significantly ease various regulations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.