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The Office of the United States Trade Representative

USTR Applauds Korea's Measures to Open Beef Market
Contact: Richard Mills (202) 395-3230 09/26/2001

WASHINGTON - U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick today welcomed the Korean Government's announcement that it has adopted measures abolishing restrictions on imported beef. These restrictions have been in place for more than 30 years. The new measures abolish the dual retail system for imported and domestic beef, which resulted in the exclusion of imported beef from approximately 90 percent of Korean stores that sell beef. The U.S. Government consulted closely with the Korean Government as it developed these measures.

"We are pleased that the Korean Government has taken steps to dismantle its discriminatory regulatory structure in the beef sector," said Ambassador Zoellick. "We look forward to continuing to work with the Korean Government to ensure that the new measures result in further improvements in market access for U.S. beef."

The Korean Government's actions followed WTO panel and Appellate Body rulings that found the Korean measures inconsistent with its WTO obligations. The new measures, which were announced at a Dispute Settlement Body meeting held today, are intended to bring Korea's regulatory structure into compliance with the WTO rulings.