By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
Talks to fine-tune the free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the United States are picking up pace as officials from the two countries began a second round of ``additional talks’’ to finalize the deal that needs to be formally signed by the end of this month.
South Korea’s Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong, upon arrival in Washington Monday, started closed-door negotiations with his American counterpart U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and other officials, according to officials from Seoul.
South Korean negotiators asked for complementary measures to limit the requisites needed to activate the general dispute settlement procedure in the areas of labor and the environment so that the dispute settlement procedure would not be abused.
Seoul also raised the issues of pharmaceuticals and professional visa quotas as bargaining cards to counter the U.S. demand for the general dispute settlement procedure.
South Korea and the U.S. reached a tentative agreement in early April after 10 months of intensive negotiations. But the U.S. requested earlier this month that some parts of the deal be renegotiated so its new trade policy guidelines could be reflected in the final deal.
In last week’s negotiations, the U.S. negotiators asked that the ``special’’ dispute settlement procedure be introduced in the areas of labor and environment, a tougher measure for South Korea.
In a draft text of the deal, tentatively struck in April, the two sides agreed upon a ``special’’ dispute settlement procedure instead of a ``general’’ dispute settlement procedure in the case of a failure to enforce labor and environment laws.
Under the special dispute settlement procedure, up to $15 million in fines could be used to enhance the institutions of the country which failed to enforce laws properly.
But under the general dispute settlement procedure, the fine would be given to the suitor country in the form of financial compensation, a much tougher punishment.
Washington also asked for additional talks in such areas as pharmaceuticals, government procurement, port safety and investment as well as labor and the environment. Officials from the two counties said they hope to sign the deal formally as scheduled on June 30.
Minister Kim embarked on the three-day unannounced visit to Washington Monday for this week’s round, a follow-up to the first round of renegotiations.
South Korean officials said it would take a cautious attitude before deciding how to respond to U.S. requests so that the ``balance of interest’’ reached between the two countries would not be broken after the renegotiations.
The bilateral trade pact was rushed to meet the U.S. deadline dictated by the trade promotion authority (TPA), which expires on July 1. The authority requires that the U.S. Congress vote only ``yes’’ or ``no’’ on the trade deal without any amendments, once it is signed by the government.
In South Korea, deliberation of the draft deal was scheduled in a weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. But the government postponed it to next week. Officials in Seoul said the government would determine its final position pending the results of Kim’s negotiations in Washington.
Some farmers, laborers and anti-globalization activists have been staging protest rallies against the FTA, which must be approved by the legislatures of both countries to go into effect.