Montana ranchers push for Korea trade deal

Eager to expand beef markets, Montana ranchers are throwing their weight behind a pending trade agreement with South Korea. The agreement, under review in Congress, would reduce tariffs and increase annual exports of U.S. beef by as much as $1.8 billion once fully implemented, according to some estimates. “Ranchers must have access to the additional demand for beef from consumers that live outside the United States,” said Errol Rice, a fifth-generation Montana rancher who serves as the executive vice president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association. “Our ranch families’ livelihoods depend on exports, which are our most dynamic and vibrant opportunities for long-term sustainability.” Rice was speaking Thursday to the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees trade agreements and decides whether to recommend full Senate approval for such pacts. The panel is chaired by Sen. Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat who was reluctant to move on the Korean agreement unless the Obama administration stepped up pressure on South Korea to ease restrictions on American beef. Those restrictions had been in place for several years because of concerns related to mad cow disease...more