U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, right, listens to U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow during a press conference in Seoul, Friday.
/ Yonhap |
By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
A top visiting U.S. official Friday ruled out the possibility of revising a bilateral pact lifting an import ban on American beef, saying that it was ``unfortunate'' Seoul had delayed its market-opening date.
``We don't believe the agreement needs to be negotiated depending on GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs) or other international pacts,'' Carlos M. Gutierrez, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, said in Seoul, Friday.
The comment appeared to be a step back from those made by U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab several days ago. She said that South Korea could ban meat imports in the case of an outbreak of mad cow disease, referring to GATT Article 20. The article pertains to individual countries' right to take measures necessary to protect public health.
His visit came amid a strident public outcry, triggered by fears of mad cow disease, which is leading to an organized, widespread national movement aimed at forcing a revision of the Washington-Seoul beef pact. Under public pressure, the government has delayed market opening.
``It is unfortunate,'' he said, pointing out that it was Seoul that failed to live up to its side of the beef bargain.
Though the beef issue wasn't part of the FTA deal signed last year, the U.S. Congress has made it clear it will not approve the deal without full access to the Korean market for U.S. beef.
Gutierrez's press conference came right after he met President Lee Myung-bak at Cheong Wa Dae. Lee asked the secretary to help ease the Korean public's fear on the safety of American beef.
A lot of people here are worried about the issue of importing the U.S. beef and its safety, the troubled president said.
The chief commerce official highlighted the U.S. beef has ``the finest standards, quality and safety in the world second to none,'' repeatedly throughout the press conference, saying the beef to be imported here is ``the same beef that we all buy in the United States, that we feed our children in the United States, that we enjoy every day in the United States.''
The secretary said the United States will intensify its campaign to make the case for benefits of the FTA ``to ensure it is not held up when the time comes for consideration by Congress.'' He urged the decision makers in both countries to ``marshal the political will to make the right decisions and bring the agreement to passage.''
``The FTA is a tremendous opportunity that we should not let slip away,'' Gutierrez said. ``President Bush is strongly committed to securing its ratification this year. Now we must work together to get the FTA across the goal line.''
South Korea is the seventh largest export market for the United States. Studies estimate the FTA will increase two-way trade by $20 billion annually.
hckim@koreatimes.co.kr
|
yistory@koreatimes.co.kr
