WTO to Probe Canada Complaint Against Korean Beef Ban

The World Trade Organization agreed today to decide whether a South Korean ban on imports of Canadian beef imposed six years ago during an outbreak of so- called mad cow disease breaks global trade rules.

South Korea halted Canadian beef imports in May 2003 after Canada reported its first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE, which has been linked to more than 150 human deaths worldwide. Eating meat from BSE-infected animals has been tied to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, an incurable human illness that destroys brain tissue. Canada has reported 16 cases of mad cow disease.

Before the ban was imposed, South Korea was the fourth- largest market for Canadian beef, with annual shipments valued at C$50 million ($46 million). South Korea reopened its market to beef from the U.S. in June 2008 after also barring it in 2003 during a mad cow scare.