South Korea lifts restrictions on French and Irish beef
South Korea is reopening its borders to French and Irish beef, after closing them in 2001 following the “mad cow” scandal, the European Commission announced on Thursday (13 June), calling it a “significant development” at a time when EU beef market is stagnating.
This agreement is “proof of trust in our high food safety standards. Good news for French and Irish beef producers, who now have access to this major meat market!” the Commission said on X.
In 2001, South Korea closed its market to beef from 15 EU member states because of outbreaks of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
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Over the last ten years or so, with the disappearance of mad cow disease, Europe’s partners have reopened their markets to European beef. The United States did it in 2013 and China five years later.
The European Commission said it was delighted at a “positive result” obtained with the Republic of Korea, the result of negotiations conducted over several years under the free trade agreement (FTA) signed with this partner in 2011.
“This shows that FTAs deliver real benefits for EU producers,” commented Valdis Dombrovskis, the executive vice-president of the Commission who is also the trade commissioner..
Before France and Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands obtained the right to export their beef to Korea already in 2019.
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