OTTAWA IS showing new swagger on the international stage if federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz’s recent visit to South Korea is any indication. Ritz could not have been more straightforward in his ultimatum to South Korea that it quickly develop a timeline for accepting Canadian beef or face a trade challenge at the World Trade Organization.
Ritz also placed negotiations for a Canada-South Korea free trade agreement on hold until the beef trade issue is resolved.
He also tried to invoke a sense of lost honour among South Koreans if they failed to live up to WTO commitments.
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Frank talk is not unusual for Ritz, who has displayed tenacity in the past on domestic issues such as the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly.
However, it is a change from Canada’s traditional international approach that has generally favoured diplomacy over the big stick.
In South Korea, the news was received as another threat, following the pressure exerted last year by the United States on the same issue.
That apparently proved effective because the U.S. managed to ship 32,000 tonnes of younger beef to South Korea in the last half of last year, after it gained restricted access for meat from animals younger than 30 months.
South Korea banned Canadian and American beef in 2003 when BSE was discovered in both countries.
In 2002, Canada shipped more than 15,000 tonnes of beef valued at $60 million. It was Canada’s fourth-best export market.
Government officials in South Korea have so far maintained that the ban on Canadian beef cannot be lifted until the safety of Canadian beef is verified. It wants to review the latest outbreak of BSE before making a decision.
Since both Canada and the U.S. are classed as controlled risk countries by the World Organization for Animal Health and have closely intertwined beef markets, it makes no sense for South Korea to keep out Canadian beef while allowing in beef from the U.S.
It is apparent that South Korea is acting out of protectionism and baseless consumer fears within the country, rather than scientific or legal international trade rules.
Only time will tell how Canada’s firmer approach will work, but after years of frustration and little progress, a change in strategy combined with determination to follow through with consequences will hopefully serve Canadian beef exporters well.
Canada has the leverage to force change. Two-way trade between Canada and South Korea reached $8.37 billion in 2007.
Of that, Canada imported $5.37 billion from South Korea and sent $3 billion the other way. A bilateral free trade deal could have significant implications for both countries.
In seeking such a deal, the Canadian government has hopes for access to South Korea’s agricultural and seafood markets, as well as consumer-ready products.
Korea, meanwhile, has been eyeing Canadian markets for computers, rubber, vehicles, electrical machinery and steel.
Ottawa must emphasize to South Korea that it won’t get access to these key markets if it is not willing to budge on beef.
Bruce Dyck, Terry Fries, Barb Glen, D’Arce McMillan and Ken Zacharias collaborate in the writing of Western Producer editorials.
