Korea to step up free trade talks
Korea Times, 25 March 2005
Korea to Step Up Free Trade Talks
By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
The government will continue working toward free trade agreements (FTA) with major trading partners as part of South Korea’s aim to emerge as one of the most open economies in the world.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance-Economy Minister Han Duck-soo, an advocate of free trade, said Friday that the government will continue to hold free trade talks with other countries to expand Korea’s external trade and strengthen its economic competitiveness.
Han presided over a policy consultation meeting of economy-related ministers on international economic issues at the Kwachon government complex, south of Seoul.
The government plans to sign an FTA with the four-member European Free Trade Association (EFTA) this year.
It is scheduled to hold the second round of talks with the EFTA states - Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland - here next month, following the first talk in Geneva, Switzerland in January.
The South Korea-EFTA FTA will be a comprehensive agreement, covering trade in goods and services, intellectual property rights, investment and public procurement, the government official said.
The government plans to submit the FTA agreement with Singapore to the National Assembly for ratification early next month.
The agreement was concluded during a meeting between President Roh Moo-hyun and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Laos last November on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)+3 summit.
It is the second bilateral trade deal for South Korea after the first FTA with Chile, which came into effect last April.
The Assembly is expected to ratify the pact without any problem, unlike the previous FTA with Chile that had difficulty gaining legislative approval due to massive opposition from farmers and anti-globalization activities, the official said.
At the meeting, the government also decided to work toward the conclusion of free merchandize trade with the 10 ASEAN nations by the end of this year, while continuing to hold further talks on free cross-border investment and services trade by 2006.
The government predicted that both sides would remove duties on 80 percent of products by 2009 if the trade talks went smoothly.
Regarding the ongoing FTA talks with Japan, the government said that both sides have been trying to narrow their differences over several sticking issues, including the opening of the agricultural market.
The Japanese government has been reluctant to completely open its market to cheaper agricultural imports from Korea, as it fears strong protest from farmers and fishermen.
On the other hand, the Korean government has been slow to proceed with the trade talks as it is concerned about a possible widening trade deficit with Japan and resistance from industries that are less competitive compared to their Japanese counterparts.
The two countries planned to conclude the FTA agreement by the end of the year but it will likely be further delayed due to the recent diplomatic tug of war over the sovereignty of the Tokto islets in the East Sea.
The government also said it would continue to discuss trade issues and the feasibility of an FTA with the United States.
The Korean and U.S. governments are scheduled to hold a second round of working-level talks in Washington DC on March 28 to 29 to explore issues that would need to be discussed and resolved before an FTA could be signed.
One obstacle has been the inability of both parties to make headway on a bilateral investment treaty, a U.S.-set precondition to a trade deal, due to a dispute over U.S. access to the Korean movie market.
South Korea intends to form an FTA with India as early as 2007 with both countries reaching an agreement to start negotiations this year, while the government also plans to hold the first meeting for trade talks with Canada in the near future.
