By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and George W. Bush said they want the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) to be ratified during their tenures. Bush, in particular, cited the KORUS FTA as ``one of the tasks he needs to complete during his term.’’
Just hours before the two countries made public the full text of the accord, the U.S. president expressed his desire for his administration to ``further the work we’ve done on the Korean free trade agreement.’’ Roh has also expressed a similar view after the accord.
But Rep. Kim Won-woong of the pro-government Uri Party, who is leading the National Assembly’s standing committee on unification, foreign affairs and trade, said the Assembly is considering a hearing in July or August on the FTA.
``The National Assembly will use its investigation rights into state affairs at the hearing to ask for a responsible answer from the government,’’ he said. ``The negotiators will have to take an oath to be strictly responsible for what they say according to the parliament's testimony rules.’’
Opponents, including leaders of the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party, vowed to take out ``poisonous codes’’ in the accord to nullify it. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have also invited specialists to review the contents of the accord before they make a formal presentation about what they called the problematic codes in the deal next week.
So far, the South Korean government has praised the agreement as a ``win-win’’ deal. But farmers and laborers argue the deal would threaten the livelihoods of farmers and eliminate jobs.
According to a draft text released Friday morning, safeguard measures would be taken to protect some 30 South Korean agricultural goods, including beef and pork, if imports of the sensitive items from the United States rose to certain levels to threaten the local industry.
Seoul and Washington simultaneously unveiled the draft full text, which was struck in April and is scheduled to be formally signed in late June. The deal requires ratification by legislative bodies of the two countries before it takes effect.
But some ``poisonous’’ clauses, disclosed through the release of text, are raising questions on the actual effectiveness of the safeguard measures for other industrial products, fueling criticism by local opponents who have accused the South Korean government of giving in to U.S. pressure.
Safeguard measures are methods used by a country to restrain trade with the other country to protect a certain domestic industry from foreign competition, such as the temporary restriction on imports of a product, which causes -- or is threatening to cause -- serious damages to the local industry.
However, the draft text states that a safeguard measure would not be applied more than once against the same product. ``Neither party may apply a safeguard measure more than once against the same goods,’’ according to the Article 2 of Chapter 10.
South Korea’s chief negotiator Kim Jong-hoon said that the conditions and limitations of the safeguard measures would be beneficial rather than harmful to South Korea.
Both the Korean- and English-version draft texts of the deal have been posted on the Internet homepages of several relevant government ministries, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (www.mofat.go.kr). The office of U.S. Trade Representative also posted the draft text on its Web site (www.ustr.gov). Officials in Seoul said that both texts have the same legal force once the legislative bodies of the two countries ratify the pact.
Other clauses that became known through the release of the 1,400-page document (1,300 pages in Korean version) include a limitation that the ``financial safeguard,’’ which bans transmission of funds temporarily in the event of emergency such as financial crisis, cannot be taken more than once a year.
South Korea and the U.S. were also found to have agreed to punish those who attempt to make a copy film of a movie with a camcorder or other devices in theaters as criminals. Illegal copying and bookbinding around universities would also be cracked down on.
Kim said that South Korea and the U.S. will hold talks from May 29 to June 6 in Washington to finalize a legal review for accuracy, clarity and consistency. ``The final version of the full text would be made public after the official signing in late June,’’ he said.
In the meantime, the South Korea-U.S. FTA faces more tough sailing before formal signing and parliamentary ratification.
Washington wants discussion with Seoul to have some provisions of its labor and environmental standards reflected in the pact since an agreement between the U.S. Congress and the George W. Bush administration on a new trade policy earlier this month.
``So far today, the U.S. hasn’t officially made any request for renegotiation,’’ Kim said. He said the country could comply with an additional negotiation if it could enhance the mutual interests.
But USTR Ambassador Susan C. Schwab indicated the U.S. position more clearly. She said the draft text does not yet include provisions that reflect the standards on labor rights, environmental safeguards and other issues.
She added the Congress and the Bush administration are still in the process of converting their agreement into formal text. ``When that process is complete, the United States looks forward to working together with Korea to reflect that agreement.’’