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SEOUL - SOUTH Korea said on Tuesday it will effectively ban imports of US beef from cattle older than 30 months as the two sides hold talks to ease public safety concerns about the US product.
South Korea reached a deal with the United States last month to open its market wider to American beef, but delayed last week resumption of quarantine inspections for an additional seven to 10 days in the face of public safety concerns.
'The revised agreement, which will be announced later today, will include measures to ease public concerns and will effectively ban imports of beef from cattle older than 30 months,' Mr Lee Dong-kwan, South Korea's presidential spokesman told reporters on Tuesday.
The United States said on Monday it was in talks with Seoul to calm safety concerns as South Koreans have reacted angrily to the agreement requiring them to accept certain beef cuts that other US trading partners such as Japan still will not import.
Prior to the agreement, South Korea, once the third-largest importer of American beef until a US outbreak of mad cow disease in 2003, only allowed in boneless beef from cattle under 30 months of age.
The delay in resumption of beef imports is likely to irritate US lawmakers who have said Congress would not approve a sweeping free trade deal with South Korea unless Seoul fully opened its market to US beef. -- REUTERS
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