Korea Agrees to Open its Market to U.S. Beef

In December 2003 Korea closed its market to U.S. beef products after a case of mad cow disease (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or BSE) was discovered in Washington State.  U.S. beef exports to Korea had grown a lot over the preceding ten years, and by 2003 Korea was U.S.'s third biggest export market. 

Kenneth Mathews, Monte Vandeveer, and Ronald Gustafson provide a useful overview of events from 2003 through June 2006 in An Economic Chronology of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in North America (USDA)

On January 13, 2006, the U.S. and Korea announced that technical consultations had led to an agreement on an initial beef import protocol that would lead to a reopening of the Korean market to U.S. beef products.  Here is the joint press release from the Department of Agriculture and the United States Trade Representative: Secretary Johanns and USTR Portman Welcome Progress to Reopen Korean Market to U.S. Beef (January 13, 2006).

Here's the text of the press release from the U.S. Meat Export Federation: South Korea-U.S. Agreement To End Beef Ban Seen As Important First Step (Jan 13, 2006):