Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Song Mi-ryeong reaffirmed during the Korea-US tariff negotiations that there would be “no further opening” for rice and beef sectors.
Minister Song stated this today (the 1st) at the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee in response to questions from both ruling and opposition party lawmakers, saying that “this is exactly what our negotiating team announced locally and the statement from the presidential office.”
Furthermore, Minister Song expressed that the term “perfect trade,” as mentioned in President Trump’s social media post, is considered by them to be political rhetoric. She explained, “In the case of agriculture with the Korea-US FTA, 99.7% is already open, which is nearly perfect.”
She added, “In the case of rice, we have already opened up by importing 132,000 tons annually at low tariffs.”
On the topic of the quarantine procedure discussions mentioned in this Korea-US negotiation, Minister Song said, “The term ‘improvement’ means strengthening communication and we interpret it as emphasizing the scientific capacity of the 8-step quarantine procedure. I think there will be an additional detailed announcement report once the negotiation team returns.”
Minister Song also mentioned, “There is a Korea-US SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures) Committee, and we always exchange opinions with the US side,” adding, “there was ample discussion during this tariff negotiation as well.”
Today, the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee passed the amendments to the Grain Management Act and the Act on Distribution and Price Stabilization of Agricultural and Fishery Products (Agricultural and Fishery Act), which were previously discarded due to the former government’s exercise of veto power.
Minister Song explained the revised bills, “Previously, the focus was on post-action measures, but now it has been changed to strengthen preemptive measures. The Grain Act includes provisions on the mandatory financial support for cultivating substitute crops in fields to ensure there is no surplus rice, and the Agricultural and Fishery Act includes strengthened preemptive supply stabilization measures.”
[Photo source: Yonhap News]
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