RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
NPR's business news starts with South Korea backtracking on beef.
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MONTAGNE: Just a week ago, South Korea's president said that country would resume full imports of American beef. Now he says he won't allow in beef from older cattle, those more than 30 months old. The backpedaling came after widespread public protest. South Korea used to be the third largest overseas market for American beef. Then a case of mad cow disease in Washington State several years ago prompted Seoul to impose a ban. As the two countries hammered out a deal to resume imports, South Korean Internet and TV reports fueled fears of mad cow disease.
Underlying the beef issue is Koreans' frustration with their current president, but the decision to postpone U.S. beef imports could threaten a broader free trade deal between Seoul and Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
