S. Korea defends revised FTA
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South Korea's top trade official yesterday defended a hard-fought compromise with the United States to salvage a stalled free trade agreement, rejecting accusations that his government gave up too much to seal the deal.
Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk reached a final agreement on Friday after four days of negotiations focusing on US demands that South Korea rework the accord to address its big trade surplus in automobiles.
The South Korea-US free trade agreement was originally signed in June 2007, but steps to ratify it stalled amid changes in government in both countries, the global financial crisis and American demands that South Korea take steps to reduce their imbalance in auto trade and ease restrictions on imports of American beef.
South Korea, which long said it would not budge on the initial deal, ultimately compromised and addressed key US concerns on cars, though it also received benefits in return such as a two-year delay in the elimination of its tariffs on American pork. Beef was not included in the deal.
"I cannot agree with some views that (the agreement was the result) of our unilateral concession," Kim told reporters yesterday, calling it a "win-win" deal.
Kim returned to South Korea on Saturday after participating in the talks near Washington. Before becoming trade minister he was South Korea's chief negotiator for the original agreement.
The pact, which requires approval by the US Congress and South Korea's National Assembly, is the largest for the US since the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico in 1994.
Among key provisions of the revised deal, Seoul would allow the US to lift a 2.5 percent tariff on South Korean passenger cars four years after the deal takes effect, instead of immediately.
South Korea would halve its tariff on US cars to 4 percent from 8 percent and remove it after four years. Also, each US auto maker would be able to export up to 25,000 cars to South Korea as long as they meet US safety standards. Disputes over safety standards had stood as a barrier to US auto exports to South Korea.
