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Korean trade minister reaffirms no renegotiation of U.S. FTA
제목 없음
South Korea's top trade official said Monday that reopening of talks on a free
trade deal with the United States is "impossible and unrealistic" at this point,
spurning calls from the country's opposition parties to renegotiate the
deal.
The accord, known as the KORUS FTA, was signed in June 2007 and supplemented in late December of last year with minor modifications that mostly deal with the auto industry. The agreement was ratified by the U.S. Congress last week and Seoul is under mounting pressure to follow suit.
South Korea's opposition parties, led by the Democratic Party, have been pressing the government to renegotiate the deal as they claim the pact does not reflect a balance of interests, and to come up with more support measures for the agricultural and other sectors.
"Calls for the renegotiation are impossible and unrealistic at present, but the government is working to produce more supportive measures for the industries expected to be damaged by the free trade deal," South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said in a meeting with senior journalists.
The free trade deal is pending at a South Korean parliamentary committee for review. South Korea's ruling Grand National Party is pushing to get the deal ratified within this month in a move to keep pace with Washington's move.
Kim urged the country's parliament to swiftly approve the free trade deal, which will help expand Korea's market share in the world's largest economy.
According to the report jointly compiled by 10 local state-run think tanks, including the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, if the deal takes effect, South Korea will see its gross domestic product expand by an additional 5.66 percent in the long term.
The think tanks also predicted that South Korea will see its trade surplus with the U.S. increase by US$140 million annually over the next 15 years after the FTA goes into effect.
Date
2011.10.17
The accord, known as the KORUS FTA, was signed in June 2007 and supplemented in late December of last year with minor modifications that mostly deal with the auto industry. The agreement was ratified by the U.S. Congress last week and Seoul is under mounting pressure to follow suit.
South Korea's opposition parties, led by the Democratic Party, have been pressing the government to renegotiate the deal as they claim the pact does not reflect a balance of interests, and to come up with more support measures for the agricultural and other sectors.
"Calls for the renegotiation are impossible and unrealistic at present, but the government is working to produce more supportive measures for the industries expected to be damaged by the free trade deal," South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said in a meeting with senior journalists.
The free trade deal is pending at a South Korean parliamentary committee for review. South Korea's ruling Grand National Party is pushing to get the deal ratified within this month in a move to keep pace with Washington's move.
Kim urged the country's parliament to swiftly approve the free trade deal, which will help expand Korea's market share in the world's largest economy.
According to the report jointly compiled by 10 local state-run think tanks, including the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, if the deal takes effect, South Korea will see its gross domestic product expand by an additional 5.66 percent in the long term.
The think tanks also predicted that South Korea will see its trade surplus with the U.S. increase by US$140 million annually over the next 15 years after the FTA goes into effect.
Source: Yonhap News (Oct. 17, 2011)