Canada and Mexico resumed importing some U.S. beef in 2004. (See sections on Korea, Japan, and Canada, below.) U.S. Beef Exports to Korea

Korea has been the last of the four major foreign markets to accept U.S. beef. In Congress

In the 110 th Congress, U.S. access to Korea's beef market has become a key issue in the debate over implementation of the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement (FTA). U.S.
The 110 th Congress has been monitoring U.S. efforts to regain foreign markets that banned U.S. beef when a Canadian-born cow in Washington state tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in December 2003. The four major U.S. beef export markets, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Korea, are again open to U.S. products. However, resumption of beef trade with Japan and Korea has not gone smoothly. For example, Korea briefly readmitted but then suspended U.S. beef imports. Now, Korea's delays in implementing an April 2008 agreement to end its ban are a key issue in congressional consideration of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.