Kaesong sensitive issue in FTA negotiation

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Feb. 9 for Shinwon Corporation's second factory in the Kaesong Industrial Complex, North Korea. Kaesong/Yonhap News.

U.S. trade official deems it a ’difference of opinion’

An official of the U.S. trade department on May 22 called the Kaeseong Industrial Complex a "problem" that will be a "sensitive issue" in the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiation.

At a forum held in Washington, D.C., the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "South Korea stated that the FTA should be applied to products from the Kaeseong complex as well, but Robert Portman, former U.S. Trade Representative, stated that the FTA is an agreement between the U.S. and South Korea," forecasting that "it won’t be easy to coordinate different opinions of the two countries."

When asked whether the 100 or so South Korean protesters reportedly traveling to Washington to protest the FTA will have any effect on the agreement negotiations, the official replied, "In a democratic society, citizens can express concern and raise complaint. But according to opinion polls conducted in South Korea, a majority strongly supports the FTA."

Asked why the U.S. chose South Korea as its FTA partner, he said, "In fact, the U.S. didn’t select Korea. In a sense, South Korea selected the U.S. South Korea clarified an intention to push ahead with an FTA and expressed its will to have comprehensive negotiations. On the matter, Korea has attempted agricultural reform and hinted at the possibility of including ’sensitive’ items in the agenda."

At the forum, Wendy Cutler, U.S. chief negotiator of the FTA talks between South Korea and the U.S., indicated that the U.S. administration is under strong pressure from various industries, citing, "The U.S. industries submitted far more complaints than in any other [FTA] negotiations." Ms. Cutler mentioned South Korea’s non-tariff trade barriers as factors which will hinder South Korea-U.S. negotiation. She seemed to stress that the deadline pushed by the so-called "fast track" faction in the U.S. administration is imminent, saying, "The South Korea-U.S. negotiation should be completed by the end of the year."

Meanwhile, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and the U.S. National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) held a round-table discussion in Washington with participation of industrial representatives of the two countries, in which the group decided to back the FTA.