[Ip-health] FT: Seoul Says Won't Rush Into US Bilateral Trade Deal

[Mike Palmedo]

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/3bae0564-cdfd-11da-a032-0000779e2340.html

Seoul says won=92t rush into US bilateral trade deal

By Anna Fifield in Seoul
Published: April 17 2006 11:38
Financial Times

South Korea=92s trade minister on Monday declared Seoul would not rush
into a bilateral trade agreement with the US, its second-largest trading
partner, just because the two countries had set an ambitious timetable
for concluding the deal.

As preparatory talks continue before formal negotiations start on June
5, Kim Hyun-chong said it was =93plausible=94 that an agreement could be
reached with Washington before the US =93fast-track=94 process expires in
June next year.

=93I would feel a bit more comfortable if we had more time but it=92s
certainly do-able within this timeframe,=94 Mr Kim told foreign
journalists in Seoul.

However, amid large street protests and increasing political debate
about the agreement, which would likely require South Korea to open up
its car and pharmaceutical markets as well as parts of the agricultural
sector, Mr Kim said Seoul had =93minimum bottom lines=94.

=93It will be very difficult for either country to receive the necessary
domestic approval unless the overall package achieves a balance of
interests which considers the concerns of the two countries,=94 the
minister said.

=93I cannot sign an agreement which does not meet our negotiating
objectives simply because time is ticking =85 Needless to say, what we
agree on is far more important than when we agree,=94 he said.

About 17,000 protesters marched through the streets of Seoul on Saturday
to demonstrate against the deal, which some said would increase South
Korea=92s economic reliance on the US and in effect turn it into =93the 51s=
t
US state=94.

Farmers have been particularly vociferous, although the South Korean
government is seeking for rice to be exempt from the deal, in the same
way it is excluded from multilateral trade agreements until 2015.

Seoul and Washington are scheduled to begin the first of five rounds of
talks in June and to conclude discussions in March so the deal can pass
through the US=92s Trade Promotion Authority =96 which has the power to
negotiate trade deals without amendment procedures from the US Congress
=96 before its authority expires at the end of June next year.

Even without the tight timeframe, the negotiations are shaping up to be
thorny. As well as tackling contentious areas including autos,
pharmaceuticals, beef and intellectual property, officials in both Seoul
and Washington say the US is likely to push for changes in =93grey=94 areas
of non-tariff trade barriers as well as on black-and-white tariffs issues.

There is also likely to be friction over goods made at the Kaesong
industrial park in North Korea, where South Korean businesses have
opened factories. Washington is opposed to Seoul=92s suggestion that these
products be considered =93made in Korea=94.