By Bae Keun-min
Staff Reporter

The South Korean government reconfirmed on Tuesday that it has no plan to lift the embargo on American beef imports for the time being.

The stance was reaffirmed after a meeting on Tuesday between Korean government officials and a U.S. delegation at the Integrated Government Complex in Kwachon, south of Seoul.

The delegation, led by J.B. Penn, undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Thomas Hubbard visited Huh Sang-man, the Korean agriculture and forestry minister, to assure the safety of U.S. beef and beef products.

The envoy explained the progress of the U.S. government’s efforts to contain a further outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease.

It is the second time that a U.S. delegation has visited Korea since the first U.S. mad cow case was reported on a ranch in Washington state late last month.

The U.S. is expected to send more delegations in the near future as part of efforts to reopen the Korean beef market, the U.S.’ third-largest beef export market. Korea imported $655.9 million in U.S. beef and related products last year.

The Yonhap News Agency quoted the Nihon Keizai Shimbun as having reported U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick will visit Japan around Feb. 10 to talk about Japan’s import ban on American beef products. It is highly possible that Zoellick will also visit Korea.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on Tuesday that it will strengthen the animal feed rule introduced in 1997, prohibiting certain currently allowed feeding and manufacturing practices involving feed for cattle and other ruminant animals, including leftovers, mammalian blood and blood products, as part of steps to prevent the reoccurrence of the mad cow disease.

According to AFP, incomes of American farmers are expected to fall by some 10 percent, or $5.5 billion, this year due to the BSE case.

kenbae@koreatimes.co.kr