[Ip-health] The Hankyoreh: Bipartisan criticism raised against free trade approach - Government ignoring citizens, groups say

[Mike Palmedo]

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_business/140383.html

Bipartisan criticism raised against free trade approach - Government
ignoring citizens, groups say

The Hankyoreh
July 11, 2006

The second round of South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA)
negotiations began July 10, with both ruling and opposition camps
raising strong criticism of the government=92s approach to the talks.

Members of the National Assembly=92s Agriculture, Forestry, Maritime
Affairs and Fisheries Committee, including chairman Kwon Oh-eul, told a
press conference that "domestic agriculture could be seriously damaged
by the FTA with the United States. Under such circumstances, the
government is unilaterally pushing ahead with the FTA without collecting
public opinion. The government should hold the FTA talks only after
devising mid- and long-term plans in the area of agriculture." They also
demanded rice be excluded from tariff concession, urging the government
"not to proceed with the negotiations hastily, pressed by a time limit."

The committee members asked the government to put in place a special
safeguard for items whose imports are expected to rapidly increase by
the elimination of tariffs. They also urged the government to secure
authority on a quota system that would regulate tariff rates, as well as
to have a say in sanitation and quarantine standards as much as possible.

"Unless our demands are reflected in the talks, we will not accept the
results of the negotiations," the committee members said.

About 35 assemblymen from a bipartisan group of lawmakers studying the
FTA, such as Reps. Kim Tae-hong and Moon Hak-jin of the Uri Party, Kwon
Young-gil and Kang Ki-kab of the Democratic Labor Party, and Shin
Jung-sik and Choi In-kee of the Democratic Party, expressed serious
concern about the negotiations. In a statement, they urged the
government "to provide information on the negotiation process to the
public transparently, and to completely report [information] to the
National Assembly." They added that the government "did not properly
reflect the opinion of the people and the Assembly in its tariff
concession offer."

At a press conference, Rep. Choi In-kee of the minor opposition
Democratic Party and its floor leader Kim Hyo-seok suggested that the
ruling and opposition camps should "issue a joint statement tomorrow to
clarify that the FTA ratification should be made after reaching a
bipartisan agreement, in order to make the public feel safe and to
ensure the fairness of the negotiations."

The National Assembly agreed to form a special FTA committee at its June
30 plenary session, but it has not yet appointed committee members. The
Democratic Party floor leader Kim criticized the "incompetence" of the
Assembly, requesting that it complete formation of the special committee.