S Korea won’t include rice in FTA with US: minister
S. Korea won’t include rice in FTA with U.S.:minister
SEOUL, Jan. 12 2007 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s agriculture minister confirmed Friday that his government will not open its rice market under a proposed free trade agreement with the United States.
The remarks by Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Park Hoong-soo come as farmers and supporters planned masssive protests timed with a sixth round of South Korea-U.S. free trade talks set to open in Seoul on Monday.
"Excluding rice from the FTA talks under any circumstances is our basic stance," Park told told Yonhap News Agency in an interview.
No real discussions have been made on the issue of rice in the free trade talks which began in June last year. U.S. officials have said they would raise the issue "at some point", possibly in the upcoming round in Seoul.
The South Korean minister said that although South Korea’s economy is heavily dependent on overseas markets, there is a "consensus that the agricultural sector should be handled differently than other industries."
Rice is one of the most sensitive products for South Korea. Farmers have often staged violent street protests against any government moves to open the country’s agricultural markets. One farmer was killed in a bloody street protest in Seoul a little more than a year ago.
Concerning the import of U.S. beef, which has emerged as a stumbling block during the FTA talks, Park said that safety is not a matter to be dealt with "ambiguously."
South Korea resumed imports of U.S. beef in October, after a three-year ban due to several cases of mad cow disease discovered among American cattle in 2003.
The first three shipments of American meat were rejected after bone fragments were found, violating a bilateral agreement requiring all U.S. beef shipments to South Korea to be bone-free.
U.S. beef imports will be screened in a scrupulous manner based on local health standards, said Park. However, the official also noted that talks must resolve different perspectives of safety standards for U.S. beef.
"We admit there are areas that could be reconsidered, and there is a need for experts to approach the subject scientifically in order to clarify controversial areas," said Park.
Before its import ban, South Korea was the third largest U.S. beef market, with annual purchases totaling US$850 million.
