Canadian Beef Ban May Not Last
CANADA - Will Canada's World Trade Organization challenge with Korea over Canadian beef even reach the WTO process?
25 August 2009
1 minute read
There's speculation that Korea may want to reach an agreement before that happens, since a WTO ruling could force them to open the border to wider market access and not just Canada, reports DiscoverMooseJaw.
Some critics say Ottawa should have taken a tougher stand sooner. "Hindsight is always 20/20," said Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. "We negotiated in good faith with the Koreans and when we started to see that they were using it as a tactic to stall we made a trip over there and came away with some good response. We're serious about it and if it means making another trip to Korea, we'll do it."
According to DiscoverMooseJaw, the President of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association Brad Wildeman is pleased with the federal government's WTO challenge and is optimistic about moving ahead. Meanwhile, Amos Kim with the Canada beef export federation office in Korea says Canada should have been more aggressive in trying to get the Korean border open to canadian beef right from the start.
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