Strong Statement

<a href="http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/10/04/news/state/39-beef.txt">It appears</a> that the Bush Administration is taking to heart the noise from Congress about no Free Trade Agreement with South Korea until beef trade is normalized.<br />n<br />n<blockquote>Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., said Wednesday that U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab has assured him that the Bush administration will not push a free-trade agreement with South Korea until the country opens its market to U.S. beef.<br />n<br />nIn a meeting with Schwab, Rehberg told her he would not vote in favor of a trade agreement unless South Korea has started importing all U.S. beef products again.<br />n<br />n"She looked me in the eye and said, 'I will not bring forward a Korean package for a vote in the Congress until the beef issue is solved,' " Rehberg said. "The good news is, she made the commitment and I take her at her word. And that's the strongest statement I've heard so far" from the Bush administration.</blockquote><br />n<br />nThis is really good news for the beef industry. I think normalization would happen anyway since the Australian beef market is collapsing so South Korea will have to open up to the USA for beef since the weakness of our dollar makes our beef more attractive. Sen. Baucus and Rep. Rehberg are really working hard for cattlemen on this one. Being as cattle are such a large p[art of Montana's economy it makes sense. They are up for re-election.<br />n<br />n<strong>The goal is to normalize trade relations based on sound science and consumer protection. Mike Johanns</strong>