Measure would be part of free trade agreement
South Korea will allow U.S. companies to bid for South Korean government contracts worth more than 148,000 USD, the nation’s top trade representative said regarding negotiations with Washington on a free trade agreement (FTA). Kim Jong-hoon, Korea's chief FTA negotiator, made the remarks in a press conference designed to brief the public on South Korea’s negotiating stance in the second round of FTA talks, to be held next week in Seoul. The bid threshold is lower than what South Korea had suggested earlier this year to the Doha Development Agenda of the World Trade Organization, experts say. At the time, Seoul proposed that U.S. companies would be allowed to bid on contracts worth more than 192,000 USD.Despite the lowered bid threshold, Kim said South Korea would not open for bidding the supplying of meals to local schools, and would maintain a firm stance in protecting the nation’s small and medium-sized enterprises. South Korea will focus its negotiating capacity on sensitive areas in the talks, such as revising the quota on textile exports to the U.S., to use them as leverage to protect the nation’s agricultural sector, Kim said. Kim added that during the second round of talks, the two sides will divulge more details regarding their stances in the talks, as the goals for the second round are more encompassing than those during the first round, held in Washington in early June. Meanwhile, civic groups and those opposed to an FTA with the U.S. are planning to stage street demonstrations next week prior to the start of the second round of talks.
