S.Korea, US to hold FTA feasibility meeting in Washington
Xinhuanet
S.Korea, US to hold FTA feasibility meeting in Washington
27 April 2005
SEOUL, April 27 (Xinhuanet) — South Korea and the United States will hold a third working-level meeting this week to review the feasibility of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, the government here said Wednesday.
The meeting, scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Washington, is a follow-up on two previous sessions, held in February in Seoul and March in Washington.
South Korea and the United States have yet to start official talks on whether to push for a FTA pact, especially since issues like Seoul’s screen quota, which has held up progress on a bilateral investment treaty, have yet to be resolved.
The screen quota system, aimed at protecting the domestic film industry from Hollywood movies, requires local cinemas to fill 40 percent of their schedules with home-made movies.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said this week’s meeting will touch on key areas of a possible FTA, such as the service, investment, financial and telecommunication sectors. Alsoamong the agenda items are e-commerce, labor relations, environment and corporate transparency, it added.
At the second round of talks, the two sides discussed tariffs, product origin rules, customs regulations, intellectual property rights, agriculture and government procurement.
Local think tanks have said a FTA will boost South Korean exports by 3.5 billion US dollars to 4.6 billion dollars, with US exports going up 1.7 billion dollars to 3 billion dollars.
The two countries had not actively pursued a free trade pact until last year, but changed their stances as more and more countries are moving to adopt trade liberalization measures. The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea has urged both countries to start earnest talks on this matter. Enditem
