By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
Terms on Korea's imports of U.S. beef and autos will not act as a stumbling block to the U.S. Congress's ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA), a senior finance ministry official said on Monday.
When asked about the possibility that the U.S. Administration may request for additional talks on the beef and automobile markets, Kim Sung-jin, deputy finance and economy minister for international affairs, said in a radio interview that negotiators from both sides engaged in a series of intense talks for the past 10 months over the opening of Korea's auto market to U.S. carmakers, adding that Korea made many concessions.
``Also, the two sides are currently talking over issues concerning Korea's beef imports from the U.S. I think the negotiators will produce mutually satisfying results. These two issues will not hinder the U.S. Congress from approving the trade pact with Korea,'' Kim said.
But he admitted that the FTA ratification is facing a bumpy road ahead in the U.S., adding that the government will persuade American businesses to aggressively lobby U.S. representatives to pass the trade pact.
The two countries formally signed a free trade agreement (FTA) in Washington, Saturday, after they struck the landmark deal April 2. The FTA, if ratified by the U.S. Congress and the Korean National Assembly, will be the first between Washington and a Northeast Asian country.
However, the ratification remains uncertain, mainly due to opposition from U.S. congressmen. Some U.S. lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said they cannot support the Korea-U.S. FTA, calling for renegotiations for the trade pact to draw more concessions from Seoul.
One day before the FTA signing, Democratic congressional leaders issued a statement describing the trade agreement as a ``missed opportunity,'' claiming the FTA does not address the problem of non-tariff barriers, particularly those blocking access to American cars, beef, rice and other products.
When asked about the two countries additional talks, which some commentators called hasty, Kim said it did not take long for the two sides to reach an agreement on revisions to the trade pact as they were not much different from the tentative agreement on April 2.
``Also, if we did not sign the trade agreement before the U.S. President's authority to fast track international deals expired on June 30, it could create unnecessary legal trouble in the U.S.'' President Bush's Trade Promotion Authority allowed the White House to negotiate trade pacts that cannot be amended by Congress, though lawmakers could still reject them.
Kim also noted that Korea benefited more from the additional FTA talks, saying the U.S.
made concessions to Korea's demands on areas in pharmaceuticals and professional visa quotas. ``Also, following the FTA signing, Bush said the U.S. will positively consider including South Korea in its expansion of a visa waiver program (VWP) list.''
The U.S. requested early this month that some parts of the deal be renegotiated so its new trade policy guidelines could be reflected in the final deal.
The two countries reached the agreement in the 11th hour after two additional negotiation sessions from June 22-27, to reflect seven tightened requirements, including labor laws and the environment, adopted in new U.S. trade policies.