A top U.S. trade negotiator asked South Korea Monday to fully open its beef market, saying that the issue must be addressed for the successful conclusion of a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
"We have made very clear to our Korean counterparts that in order for a successful Korea-U.S. free trade agreement to be ratified by our Congress, we need to see a full reopening of Korea's beef market for U.S. beef," Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler told reporters.
Cutler, the chief U.S. negotiator, and her South Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-hoon, opened a fifth round of free trade talks in this U.S. ski resort town in Montana, hoping to wrap up the six-month-old negotiations by March at the latest.
Kim said there was little headway in the first-day discussions which focused on tariff reductions or removal, he said. The negotiations will continue until Friday.
The March deadline is important, because U.S. negotiators must submit a negotiated deal with South Korea to the Congress at least 90 days before U.S. President George W. Bush "fast-track" trade promotion authority expires on June 30. Bush's authority requires the Congress to vote yes or no without any amendments.
The two sides originally had hoped to wrap up the negotiations by the end of this year, but extended the deadline into early next year. At least one more round is set to be held in January.
Cutler acknowledged that technically, the beef issue is not part of the FTA talks but she declared that "our efforts to reopen Korea's beef market to U.S. beef is related to Korea-U.S. FTA."
The chief South Korean negotiator, Kim, insisted that the beef quarantine issue is not on the FTA negotiating table.
"In the free trade talks, we only deal with tariff issues," Kim told reporters. "But, I know the U.S. side is delivering its position on beef to South Korea via various official and unofficial channels."
The row is over South Korea's rejection last week -- the second in a month -- of several tons of U.S. beef after bone fragments were found in the meat in violation of a bilateral agreement that allowed imports of American meat to resume.
U.S. officials have strongly accused South Korea of applying stricter rules on shipments of American beef. South Korea, once the world's third-largest buyer of U.S. beef, has agreed to import only boneless meat, ending a three-year ban after mad cow disease was detected in the U.S.
Aside from beef, which is only one of hundreds of items being covered by the FTA talks, both sides are facing many other tough hurdles in this week's round, as they plan to touch on such sensitive items as other farm goods, autos, medicines and anti-dumping rules.
In the absence of a clear breakthrough in the talks, Cutler still said, "I'm still confident that an agreement is within reach ... But, for an agreement to be sealed, we must work hard, be creative and make tough political decisions."
Since the fourth round in South Korea in October, officials of the two sides have been in "close and intense contacts" to ensure progress, Cutler said, disclosing that South Korea's Trade Minister Kim Hyun-jong and U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab had met twice in Hanoi and in Washington during the period.
"All of these contacts at the various levels between the U.S. and Korea have all been in efforts to set the stage for more progress in the Korea-U.S. FTA negotiations to be achieved this week in Montana," she said.
In another sign of looming showdown, the chief South Korean negotiator, Kim, reiterated that he will try to exclude rice, South Korea's No. 1 cash crop and one of the most sensitive items, from free trade talks with the U.S.
"As for rice, we have delivered our strong intention (to exclude rice from free trade talks) to the U.S. side," Kim said.
"We will continue to persuade the U.S. to recognize our sensitive items." However, the U.S. insists that there should be "no exception," Kim said.
Kim earlier had said that in Montana, his delegation will concentrate on textiles and anti-dumping remedies. The U.S., for its part, is expected to press South Korea to open its markets wider to autos, farm goods and pharmaceuticals, he added.
For textiles, both sides agreed to elevate the level of negotiations to deputy ministers, Cutler said.
Bae Jong-ha, director of international agriculture bureau at the Agriculture Ministry who is leading the nation's agriculture negotiating team, hinted that the level of agricultural negotiations may also be upgraded.
"For sticking points that can't be resolved at the working-level officials, senior-level officials are likely to discuss them," Bae told reporters on the sideline of the Montana talks.
Experts say that the Montana round will decide whether the proposed FTA can be attained. "In the end, the Montana round will be a good gauge for how likely the prospects will be and how often the two sides will need to meet next year to be successful," Troy Stangarone, a trade analyst at the Washington-based Korea Economic Institute, said in an e-mail interview.
Unlike previous rounds, security is light. About 10 South Korean activists held a peaceful demonstration, with a few guards and skiers watching.
"We oppose the South Korea-U.S. FTA because it will hurt our food safety and security, while only benefiting America," Oh Jong-ryol, a representative of the South Korean protesters, said at a news conference.
Oh said his group planned to stage a candlelight vigil later in the day.
South Korea is the seventh-largest U.S. trading partner, with two-way trade valued at US$72 billion last year, according to South Korean figures.
Big Sky Resort, Montana, Dec. 4 (Yonhap News)
U.S. negotiator calls on Seoul to fully open beef market |
