Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon |
By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon urged the United States to ``finish what it started" on the free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea, Friday, saying their was no possibility of additional concessions from Seoul.
``Basically, it doesn't make sense to try to make amends to the agreement,'' he said on a radio show. ``If the United States has problems with the agreement it made with Korea, it should provide the solutions as well.''
``Those solutions should be acceptable ones, and should protect the spirit of mutual benefit,'' the minister added, reasserting that Seoul's stance is firm.
Earlier this month, Kim met with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, who rattled Seoul's stance of no concessions. At the time, Kim more or less told the U.S. Trade Representative to ``take it or leave it.'' Kim is seen as a hard-line supporter of the early ratification of the FTA with the United States. But he is also well liked among U.S. bureaucrats both in Seoul and Washington for his forthright approach.
As for the ratification, Kim expects that the right time is likely to emerge later this year, saying, ``The iron will be hot enough to strike then.''
Since being signed in 2007, the Korea-U.S. FTA (KORUS FTA) has been in limbo, as the legislatures of both countries have proven reluctant to give it the final seal of approval.
Kim played a pivotal role in the FTA settlement as leader of Seoul's negotiating team. Despite the positive outlook for ratification, the election of President Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress are getting in the way.
For the United States, it is about two major issues ― auto trade and U.S. beef shipments. Korean lawmakers, especially those representing rural areas, are not forthcoming, but the governing majority Grand National Party is pushing the agreement, albeit by biding its time in order to see how the U.S. Congress moves it along.
Washington has referred to the auto trade issue as unfair and criticized Seoul over its failure to fully open up the domestic beef markets.
Kim headed the Seoul negotiating team once again in June last year for additional talks over a revision of the pact's beef-related contents, with public fear over the resumption of U.S. beef imports still ripe. As a result, Korea introduced a special age verification program banning the import of U.S. beef from cattle older than 30 months old until public concern subsides.
As a veteran official, Kim has been successful in leading Korea's FTA negotiations with several countries, such as India, Canada, Mexico and Japan, as well as the European Union. Yet, the outlook for the U.S. negotiations may not be so bleak with one of the two troublesome issues showing signs of improvement.
The U.S. beef industry recently said it supports ratification, reversing its long-pending request for a full opening of the beef market here through a lifting of the ban on shipments of cattle older than 30 months.
``The FTA offers access and benefits for our products. So again, we fully support it,'' Joel Haggard, senior vice president of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, said at a press conference in Washington. ``I am not aware of any efforts to ask Korea to reopen the beef agreement.''
It now appears that the auto issue is the only hurdle in the way of ratification. With virtually the entire U.S. auto industry under government control, Washington is calling for more concessions from Seoul, whose auto industry has turmoil of its own to deal with.
Kim predicted both countries will be able to address the issue more clearly when the General Motors issue is settled.
The KORUS FTA is the biggest U.S. bilateral trade agreement by volume since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993.
The United States expects it would increase its annual exports to Korea by more than $10 billion once complete. Currently, Korea is its seventh-biggest trading partner.
hckim@koreatimes.co.kr
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