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Controversial Points of KORUS FTA
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SEOUL _ South Korea Friday publicized the full text of its free trade agreement with the United States, with the move expected to further fuel criticism of the deal.
The following are some controversial points of the agreement that were posted on the Web site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Definition of `National’
_ The agreement stipulates that ``national’’ means with respect to Korea, ``a Korean national within the meaning of the National Act.’’
_ Under the agreement, there is no chance that North Koreans will be subject to the proposed trade pact in the future.
Automobiles
_ South Korea and the U.S. agreed to immediately eliminate tariffs on imported cars with engine displacements of less than 3,000 cc.
_ Both sides agreed on a so-called ``snap-back’’ system, which allows one of the two sides to withdraw the tariff-elimination measure if one party keeps its restrictions that materially affect sales, purchases and distribution.
Textiles
_ Under the agreement, the U.S. is allowed to exercise safeguard measures against South Korean textiles and clothes. The safeguard measures will be sustained for as many as 20 years after the pact comes into force.
North Korean Industrial Park
_ South Korea wants the U.S. to recognize goods made at an inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea as originating from South Korea. In principle, the deal raised the possibility of giving special tariff treatment to goods made in the Gaeseong industrial complex.
_ The two sides agreed to establish an ``outward processing committee on the Korean Peninsula’’ to discuss the matter later.
_ However, the deal requires goods made outside South Korea to follow international labor standards, a measure expected to dim the prospects for goods from the North Korean industrial complex.
Intellectual Property Rights
_ To strengthen law enforcement measures on intellectual property rights of U.S. films, South Korea agreed to legally punish any person attempting to record a movie at a theater using a video camera.
Trade Remedies
_ South Korea and the United States agreed to apply a safeguard measure more than once against the same product.
_ The agreement also says that a party taking a global safeguard measure ``may exclude imports of goods from the other party’’ if such imports are not a substantial cause of serious injury or threat of thereof.
Agricultural Goods
_ Under the agreement, South Korea maintains import safeguards on 30 types of agricultural products. But such protection measures on other agricultural goods is not stipulated in detail. |
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