The World Trade Organization has set up a formal dispute settlement panel to hear Canada’s challenge of South Korea’s ban on Canadian beef.
The WTO’s move follows a July 20 request from Ottawa, after consultations with the Korean government in May “did not lead to a resolution of the issue,” according to a release from Ottawa Monday.
The WTO panel is expected to rule within the next nine months as to whether the ban — which dates back to the discovery of Canada’s first domestic case of BSE in an Alberta cow in 2003 — is consistent with South Korea’s obligations to the international trade body.
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Canada’s position, according to International Trade Minister Stockwell Day, is that “South Korea’s continuing ban is not based on international standards or on science. This is a clear violation of South Korea’s WTO obligations.”
“The international scientific community also recognizes that Canadian beef is safe, and I’m confident that the WTO dispute panel will rule in our favour,” federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said in the same release.
Canada presented its first request for the establishment of a dispute settlement panel at the meeting of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body on July 20. As expected, South Korea blocked the establishment of the panel at that meeting.
Canada presented its second request at the Dispute Settlement Body meeting held Monday. According to WTO rules, the federal government said, a member cannot block the establishment of a panel a second time.
It normally takes up to nine months from the establishment of a panel for its final report to be released to WTO members, the government said.
