Opposition party suggests new proposal on FTA with US
Dong-A-Ilbo, Seoul
Opposition party suggests new proposal on FTA with US
20 July 2011
The main opposition Democratic Party confirmed Tuesday its “10+2 negotiation proposal” for the free trade agreement with the U.S., or 10 items needing renegotiations and two others items that involve supplementary measures.
This is seen as the opposition`s attempt to block the ruling Grand National Party, which is determined to ratify the deal by introducing a bill with the authority of the National Assembly chairman at an extraordinary session next month. Both the ruling and opposition parties have tentatively agreed on the bill.
The Democratic Party’s proposal said that to protect the most vulnerable sectors of agriculture and livestock, lifting the 40-percent tariff on beef should be postponed for a decade, after which a cut of the tariff by eight percentage points will come in the 11th year and complete removal by the 15th year.
Seoul and Washington agreed to cut the beef tariff by 2.67 percentage points over 15 years if the agreement takes effect.
Democratic Party floor leader Kim Jin-pyo said, “The Lee Myung-bak administration has significantly impaired the balance of interests by rushing to renegotiate the deal,” adding, “The government should contact the U.S. through multiple channels by listening to the Democratic Party, which has 10 years of governing experience.”
Hong Yeong-pyo, a lawmaker who chaired the committee supporting the agreement under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, said, however, “Since the proposal is very specific, it could seem that we oppose the free trade agreement itself,” adding, “The Roh administration found that the investor-state dispute or the patent linkage in pharmaceuticals will benefit us over the long term.”
