自由貿易協定電子日報
2007.03.27
新聞
Korea, U.S. begin make-or-break talks
07/03/27The Korea Herald
Korea, U.S. begin make-or-break talks
Korea and the United States began their potentially decisive round of talks for
a proposed free trade agreement in Seoul yesterday with much uncertainty,
amid pressure to seal a deal by the end of March.
"There is a lot of tension in the air, but as this is only the first day of
talks, we are trying to be optimistic," Kim Jong-hoon, Korea's chief
negotiator, told reporters during a briefing held at the Hyatt Hotel
yesterday.
The official said wide differences of opinion continue to persist,
while both sides are finding it difficult to narrow these differences.
This includes the controversial issue of rice trade.
"If the United States continues to bring up rice, we will continue to
keep our position of excluding rice from the deal, even if the talks
hit a stalemate," Kim said.
Both sides need to strike a deal on sensitive issues, such as a U.S.
request for wider access to Korea's beef, rice, automobile and
pharmaceutical markets. Korea's request for the full opening of the
U.S. textiles market and an easing of antidumping duties are two
other thorny issues.
Korea's Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong and Karan Bhatia, deputy
U.S. trade representative, are leading talks that both sides hope to
conclude by the end of this week.
Kim Jong-hoon, and his U.S. counterpart, Wendy Cutler, held
high-level talks last Monday in Washington D.C. to narrow as many
differences as possible on the most sensitive issues. Both sides
have failed to narrow differences in earlier negotiations between
relevant ministers from both sides on agriculture and textiles.
Still, the two chief negotiators wrapped up last week's talks
optimistic for a successful and timely conclusion, as the talks have
been further elevated to the trade-minister level.
Some experts here are also confident about reaching a deal within
the week, despite the large volume of issues that still need to be
resolved.
"I'm optimistic that both sides will be able to reach a compromise on
outstanding issues this week," Suh Jin-kyo, an agriculture industry
expert at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, told
The Korea Herald.
Concerning Washington's last-minute request for opening up
Korea's rice market, a taboo subject for the local farming industry,
Suh noted that it is the United States' strategy to gain more leeway
in other areas, such as beef. He said for Washington, eliminating
the 40 percent tariff on U.S. beef imports would be meaningless if
current import regulations continue to make it difficult for American
meat companies to export.
The Korean Agriculture Ministry has vowed to exclude rice, the
country's staple grain, from the trade deal, while it is aiming to
prevent full liberalization of sensitive markets, such as beef and
oranges, two major cash crops, to protect domestic farmers.
Washington still declares that a full reopening of Korea's beef
market by easing import measures is crucial to receiving
congressional support for an FTA.
Suh noted that Washington would be more interested in regaining
full access to Korea's beef market than selling more rice because of
the greater possible economic gains. Korea was the third-largest
beef export market for the United States before an import ban in
December 2003. Annual imports totaled about $700 million, Suh
said.
Korea has been citing public health concerns and international beef
safety standards as the main reasons for restricting U.S. beef
imports. The United States has criticized Korea's import restrictions
that do not allow any meat with bones, or even small bone
fragments.
Suh stressed the importance of looking at the long-term benefits of
an FTA with the world's largest economy.
"We need to look forward to the greater trade opportunities and
prospects for advancing our economy in the long run, even if it
could mean sacrificing a little," the expert said. "There will be a lot
of benefits we can't see."
Some studies project that a Korea-U.S. FTA could boost two-way
trade by about 20 percent. Bilateral trade reached $74 billion last
year. A free-trade accord with Korea would be the largest for the
United States since NAFTA, which took effect in 1994.
Seoul and Washington are racing to conclude the talks this week to
meet the July 1 deadline of the Bush administration's trade
promotion authority.
This so-called fast-track gives the White House the right to
negotiate trade deals that Congress can either approve or reject
but not alter. The U.S. Congress needs at least 90 days to review
the agreement before issuing their decision.
(sohjung@heraldm.com)
By Yoo Soh-jung
no
2007.03.27
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