Korea, Canada make progress on farm issues in FTA talks
Korea Times | 6 February 2007
Korea, Canada Make Progress on Farm Issues in FTA Talks
Korea and Canada have made progress on agricultural issues in their latest free trade talks, brightening the prospect for a formal agreement, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forest said Tuesday in Seoul.
The ministry said Korea laid out a plan to help reduce the domestic fallout on farm produce during the four-day meeting in Vancouver, Canada, which ended last Thursday.
It said Korean negotiators proposed that tariffs on sensitive produce items be dismantled over a 15-year period and a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) system introduced for produce to be excluded from the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), the ministry said.
TRQ is a set quantity of produce that Korea will import to retain its tariff waiver.
At the meeting Canada responded favorably to the Korean proposals on sensitive agricultural issues," a ministry official said.More detailed discussions, including the need to permit special safeguard measures, will take place in the next round of talks scheduled for late March or early April in Seoul.’’
The official said safeguards are needed to prevent a sudden surge in imports that could hurt local farmers.
He said the two sides agreed to exchange a second offer list of tariff concessions and market opening measures that will be carried out if the two sides sign an FTA.
The latest meeting is the ninth gathering between the two countries to conclude a free trade pact.
Korea has already signed FTAs with Chile and Singapore. It is seeking a landmark agreement with the United States. A key thorny issue in the Korea-U.S. FTA talks has been Seoul’s move to protect its weak agricultural market from cheap imports.
