By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
South Korea will spend more than 20 trillion won over the next 10 years to help farmers better cope with difficulties arising from the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, according to the government Tuesday.
Endorsed in the weekly Cabinet meeting, the plan by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry calls for some 20.4 trillion won ($22.4 billion) to be used to make up for expected damages and to strengthen the competitiveness of the agricultural sector.
South Korea and the U.S. concluded the FTA in June, though it must be ratified by the legislatures of both countries. It calls for South Korea to gradually lower tariffs on agricultural products in the coming years.
Import duties for beef are to be eliminated in 14 years, while those for pork are to be lifted starting in 2014. Tariffs on other products are to be lifted within two to 20 years, with extra provisions being made for sensitive products such as apples and pears.
The actual increase in the financial aid, however, amounts to only 8.3 trillion won since the remaining 12.1 trillion won of the newly announced aid will be from the 119 trillion won that has already been set aside.
The government has allocated some 119 trillion won as part of efforts to help protect local farmers from FTAs with other countries, including its first pact with Chile that came into effect in April 2004.
Local farm products are generally more expensive than those imported from abroad. The government is encouraging farmers to grow higher-quality, eco-friendly goods to deal with the disadvantages and meet growing demand for premium agricultural goods.
So far, South Korea has signed FTAs with Singapore, the European Free Trade Association made up of Switzerland, Norway, Ireland and Liechtenstein, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It is now negotiating with the European Union (EU) for the largest deal.
Government officials said about 1.2 trillion won out of the 20.4 trillion won will be used to compensate for short-term damages incurred by the local agricultural industry. Another 2.1 trillion won will be used for those who give up farming.
Critics argue that the government plan is largely focused on restructuring the domestic agricultural industry instead of bolstering its competitiveness to help local products compete with imported ones.