WTO consultations are a formal opportunity for trading partners to resolve disputes through discussions. If such efforts fail, Canada may ask that the matter be taken up by a WTO dispute settlement panel. ‘We are now taking the necessary steps to defend Canadian beef producers’, Day said. ‘South Korea represents a key market for them, and we are going the extra mile to get the door open.’
South Korea banned imports of Canadian beef in May 2003 following the discovery of BSE in a Canadian cow. In May 2007, the World Organization for Animal Health categorised Canada as a controlled-risk country for BSE, but Seoul has yet to similarly recognize the effectiveness of Canada’s surveillance, mitigation and eradication measure.