By Robert Pore
robert.pore@theindependent.com

But, Nelson said, without South Korea's willingness to fully reopen its borders to U.S. beef, getting a free trade agreement with that country through Congress will be difficult.

On Monday, Gov. Dave Heineman met with Lee Tae-sik during his visit to Nebraska. Beef trade was one of the issues they discussed.

"Ensuring equal access for all beef products is a very important issue for our state as we work to expand Nebraska's presence in international markets," Heineman said. "Ambassador Lee indicated this is an important issue to resolve and I am hopeful that ongoing work at the federal level will be successful in opening the door to a wider variety of products in the near future."

In addition to importing Nebraska beef and pork products, Heineman said South Korea imports goods produced by more than 40 Nebraska companies. Nebraska's exports to South Korea grew by more than $40 million last year to $127 million, making it the state's sixth-largest international export market.

Heineman extended an invitation for South Korean companies to participate in the state's upcoming reverse trade mission, planned for Sept. 10-13.

Prior to instituting a ban on U.S. beef in December 2003 after a cow in the U.S. tested positive for mad cow disease, South Korea was Nebraska's second-largest beef market, valued at $108 million annually.

In 2006, South Korea reopened its border to U.S. beef after it lifted the 2003 ban.

As part of the agreement to reopen beef trade with South Korea, only boneless meat from cattle younger than 30 months is allowed.

But South Korea halted U.S. beef exports on a number of occasions during the past two years when the agreement was violated by the U.S. when it shipped beef with bone in it to South Korea.

With South Korea seeking a free trade agreement with the U.S., pressure is being put on that country to reopen its borders to the status prior to the 2003 ban.

South Korea was the third-largest market for U.S. beef, with imports worth $850 million a year before the ban in 2003.

Nelson said he hopes South Korea will reopen its borders fully to U.S. beef as part of the free trade deal.

"What we have now is a situation where the U.S. Department of Agriculture has allowed South Korea to make all the rules, setting up an unfair trade balance for our beef producers," Nelson said. "The South Koreans hold all of the cards and can do what they want, safety not withstanding."

Nelson said he was encouraged by what Lee said in Nebraska about fully reopening their borders to U.S. beef.

"But I have met with him on several other occasions and had assurance that I thought meant that this would soon be resolved," Nelson said. "If this is going to be the ultimate resolution of it, then we will all be happy. But the question still remains, contrary to trade policy, why the South Koreans have taken so long to resolve something that could have been resolved several months ago."

Nelson said that without resolving the beef issue, it will be difficult to pass a free trade agreement with South Korea.