Foot-and-mouth could stutter FTA schedule

By Kim Tong-hyung

As Korea continues to be exposed for its ineptitude in containing the foot-and-mouth outbreak, conflict is emerging between ministries over whether the country should go slower in chasing free trade pacts with other economies.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries insists that the government should take its foot off the gas pedal in free trade talks, at least until the disease is contained and the damage sustained by livestock farmers is assessed more thoroughly. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance, however, will have none of the argument.

First detected at a pig arm in North Gyeongsang Province in November, the spread of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has been devastating farms up and down the country. According to the latest government count, more than 3.5 million pigs, cattle, goat and deer have been culled, and the 3 million pigs killed so far roughly account for one-third of the animals that had been raised at farms.

Government officials admit that the severity of the outbreak is considered serious enough to rattle the foundation of the country’s livestock industry.

And such concerns were expressed at a meeting between economic policymakers last month, where the Agriculture Ministry agressively opposed the suggestion that the government should attempt quick ratifications of the country’s free trade agreements (FTAs) with the United States and the European Union. The ministry also maintained that the country should slow the advancement of its free trade talks with Australia, according to ministry officials.

Interestingly, the Finance Ministry, which is pushing for finalizing deals with the U.S and Europe by the end of the month, even denied that such a debate took place.

“Our stance is that the government should control its pace for finalizing free trade deals and not pursue others when it’s unclear how severe is the damage sustained by local farmers and how their situation will be affected by the free trade pacts with other economies,” an Agriculture Ministry official told The Korea Times.

“Although we aren’t denying that the country will eventually benefit from more FTAs, we don’t believe this is the right time to hasten the negotiations, especially when the significant supply shortage is dramatically raising prices and creating a meat crisis for butchers and consumers alike. It’s still unclear whether the disease is really beginning to be contained or prove to have more staying power. We haven’t reached conclusions in our discussions with the Ministry of Environment over improving the ways to manage the situation.”