(AFX UK Focus) 2008-05-22 04:03 SKorea’s Lee apologises, urges lawmakers to pass U.S. free trade pact - UPDATE (Interactive Investor) SEOUL (Thomson Financial) - South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak apologised Thursday for failing to ease fears of mad cow disease over U.S. beef imports, but urged legislators quickly to pass a broader free trade pact with Washington. [News Source]

SKorea’s Lee apologises, urges MPs to pass US free trade pact (AFP via Yahoo! News) South Korea's president apologised on Thursday for failing to ease "mad cow" fears over US beef imports, but urged legislators quickly to pass a broader free trade pact with Washington. [News Source]

(AFX UK Focus) 2008-05-22 03:34 SKorea’s Lee apologises, urges lawmakers to pass U.S. free trade pact (Interactive Investor) SEOUL (Thomson Financial) - South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak apologised Thursday for his government's handling of a mad cow scare over U.S. beef imports, but urged legislators quickly to pass a broader free trade pact with Washington. [News Source]

Business Briefs (San Antonio Express-News/KENS 5) Texas breeding cattle moved into Mexico for the first time in more than four years Wednesday as Texas and Mexican officials celebrated the lifting of a trade ban associated with mad cow disease. [News Source]

U of O research examines risks of mad cow disease (Ottawa Business Journal) It may be hard to believe that although bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or 'mad cow disease,' has cost the Canadian economy around $10 billion in lost trade and compensation, little is known about the disease. [News Source]

USDA to ban ‘downer’ beef. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said yesterday that his department wants to ban all "downer" cattle from the slaughterhouse to boost public confidence in the safety of the nation's food supply. [News Source]

USDA to tighten cow slaughter rules. The government plans to close a loophole in meat inspection rules that led to the record recall of 143 million pounds of ground beef this year, Agriculture Secretary Edward T. Schafer said Tuesday. [News Source]

USDA bans slaughter of downer cattle. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is banning the slaughter of downer cattle at meat-packing houses, closing a loophole that had allowed such cattle to enter the food supply if they passed veterinary inspection. [News Source]

U.S. to ban sick cows in food use. The Bush administration said it will bar meatpackers from slaughtering cows too sick to stand on their own, after the White House came under pressure from Congress, the meat industry and animal-rights activists. [News Source]

S.Korea importers say not shunning old U.S. cattle. South Korea's beef importers on Wednesday denied they had made any agreement to block U.S. beef from cattle older than 30 months in the face of mounting public safety concerns about the product. [News Source]