Five years after they were suspended after Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow’s disease) was identified as the cause of the
death of an Alberta cow, trade talks have resumed with South Korea.
The talks collapsed in the wake of that BSE alarm, dashing
high hopes that Canadian hog and beef farmers could substantially increase
exports to South Korea.
Now the talks are set to resume Nov. 25 to 29 in Seoul,
South Korea.
Korea wants duty-free access to the Canadian market for its
Kia and Hyundai cars, but Canada’s auto industry is objecting, saying that
would not be fair because Korea maintains auto-industry restrictions.
Canada was put at a disadvantage when South Korea went on to
negotiate a trade agreement with the United States.
