Seoul Leaves Open FTA Package Deal ( 07/02/02 ) | |||||
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Part | Charger | kimseungla | date | 07/02/02 | |
South Korea on Wednesday hinted at a package deal to complete a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States
currently under extended talks.
During a radio interview, Lee Hye-min, the No. 2 in the Korean negotiating team said, ``The two sides should make a give-and-take deal after the seventh and final round is completed.’’ The seventh round of talks is scheduled for Washington, D.C. from Feb. 11-14. Lee quickly added that the upcoming talks will be focused on narrowing their differences
in individual sectors.
The package deal Lee talked about is likely to address the issue of U.S. beef.
Korea has refused to allow in U.S. beef shipments because they were found to bone fragments. Chief U.S. FTA
negotiator Wendy Cutler and U.S. lawmakers demanded Korea soften its import standards, saying that there would be no FTA with Korea, unless the beef issue is resolved to the satisfaction of U.S. ranchers and meat processors.
Beef accounts for a big portion of U.S. farmers’ income with beef-producing states wielding great power in U.S. Congress.
In a related development, quarantine experts of Korea and the U.S. are expected to hold agriculture talks in Seoul before the coming FTA negotiations in Washington.
While Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is maintaining the stance in which it would not change quarantine rules to import only boneless beef, senior officials of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) and the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) argue that it should be sacrificed for the prompt establishment of FTA with U.S.
During the sixth round of talks in Seoul in January, Korea’s chief negotiator Kim Jong-hoon said, ``I think it would be okay, if we eat good products and send back bad products.’’
Kim, however, was short in details, not being clear about whether the entire shipment will be sent back, if bone fragments were found, for instance.
Last week, the Japanese government rejected a U.S. request for early talks about easing restrictions on American beef imports. Japan’s Agriculture Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka said Japan is still conducting deliberations on the safety of U.S. beef.
Quoted by Kim Yon-se KOREA TIMES
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