Yet Another Country Opens

<a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com//index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2006/01/14/build/world/70-beef-imports.inc">South Korea OKs some U.S. beef imports</a><br />n<br />n<blockquote>South Korea and the United States agreed Friday on partially ending a two-year import ban on American beef triggered by mad cow disease, the South Korean government said.<br />n<br />nSouth Korea shut its doors to U.S. beef imports in December 2003 after the first U.S. case of mad cow disease. At the time it was the third-largest foreign market for American beef, after Japan and Mexico. </blockquote><br />n<br />nI won't complain about opening of another market to US beef. There's a lot of talk in the article about how the US negotiators wanted more particularly where ribs were concerned. South Korea won't accept them citing safety reasons. It has nothing to do with safety, it has to do with domestic politics.<br />n<br />n<blockquote>Earlier Friday, South Korean cattle ranchers held a peaceful protest near the National Assembly against the move to lift the import ban, chanting "against resumption of U.S. beef imports." Police estimated the number of protesters at about 2,000.</blockquote><br />n<br />nSouth Korean cattle ranchers want to protect their market just like Americans want to protect their market from foreign beef. Can't blame them, I am just glad to see some movement on the trade front for beef.<br />n<br />n<b>Our trade opens to all the world. Ezra Stiles</b>