Chief delegate pursues balance in US FTA
Korea Times
Chief Delegate Pursues Balance in US FTA
By Park Hyong-ki, Staff Reporter
2 June 2006
Kim Jong-hoon, the chief negotiator for the free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the United States, said that officials from the two countries will try to reach a balanced result that serves the interests of both countries.
We will put all our efforts into reaching a conclusion that can profit the country and benefit consumers, by fine-tuning our differences,'' said Kim at a press briefing held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Friday.
Seoul and Washington will engage in their first official round of a bilateral trade accord next week from June 5 to 9 in Washington.
Before flying to Washington Saturday for five days of talks, Korea's trade diplomat stressed the need for both sides to understand each other's stance in the first round.At the talks, Seoul and Washington will try to reach an understanding on the initial bilateral drafts that were exchanged [last month],’’ Kim told the press.
He did mention that there is a huge difference in opinion between the two sides, and that it will be hard to reach an agreement.
But Kim said he will make sure that Korea will implement a strategy of opening key competitive markets that can later help enhance the country’s economy while upholding basic rules.
``We will try to minimize losses for Korea by balancing our talks with the U.S. and enhance competitiveness and development especially in the service sector,’’ Kim said.
The Korean delegation, led by Kim is comprised of 146 government officials and experts from 23 agencies including the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy.
The U.S. trade negotiating team consists of 178 officials.
Seoul will reveal its position to the U.S. on several issues covering export and trade regulations, investment and finance as well as services and telecommunications.
Washington’s negotiating draft has 23 chapters that outline viewpoints on various trade affairs.
The U.S. currently wants to discuss the issues of agriculture and textiles separately while Korea will seek to safeguard agriculture as it remains the most sensitive subject for Seoul.
In the meantime, Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook advised the Korean trade team not to hurry the talks but to take a step-by-step approach keeping the national interest in mind.
After the first of the U.S.-Korea FTA talks in Washington, trade officials from the two countries will continue their discussions in a second round in Seoul in July with the aim of sealing a deal by March 2007.
