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Korea

Tough US-Korea trade talks end in disappointment
10-Sep-2006 Reuters
US and South Korean officials expressed disappointment on Saturday at the progress made during four days of tough trade negotiations aimed at clinching a proposed free trade agreement between the two countries.
EU seeks trade accords with China, Korea as WTO talks stumble
10-Sep-2006 Bloomberg
The European Union said it will seek bilateral trade deals with China and Korea, exploring new ways of conquering foreign markets as talks over a global trade pact flounder.
Political issues weigh on trade talks
9-Sep-2006
At issue are commodities as varied as rice, apparel and automobiles, as well as lucrative new markets in banking and other financial services, with potentially billions of dollars in commerce at stake. But for several countries negotiating trade pacts with the US, the outcome may have less to do with economics than with American election-year politics.
High noon for Korea’s NAFTA
9-Sep-2006 GNN
Underneath the radar of the mainstream media, the US and South Korea are negotiating a “free trade agreement” that, if signed, will be the largest such agreement since NAFTA was passed in 1994. Hence, it’s a massive issue for US and Korean workers, and has been arousing massive opposition.
Korean filmmakers take center stage to bash trade talks
9-Sep-2006
Fresh from acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival for creating a South Korean "Jaws," the director Bong Joon Ho staged a lone protest outside the Culture Ministry in Seoul, shouting slogans and raising a red placard.
No Korean auto pact: Ontario
9-Sep-2006
The Ontario government is demanding that Ottawa exclude the auto sector from free trade talks with Korea because of potential harm to the industry.
Korean FTA negotiator under pressure
9-Sep-2006
It was 9:00 pm local time on the second day of the third round of Korea-US FTA talks.
Seattle protests against US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (PSL)
9-Sep-2006 Party for Socialism and Liberation
Two major coalitions have formed to oppose the KORUS FTA and organize protest activities during the negotiations: the Korean Alliance Against Korea-US FTA (KoA), based in South Korea, and Korean Americans Against War And Neoliberalism (KAWAN), based in the United States.
US says state governments ’exempt’ from FTA rules: source
8-Sep-2006
The US has reportedly insisted on excluding its state governments from many of the stipulations of the free trade agreement (FTA) currently being negotiated with South Korea.
Little tangible results come out of S Korea-US FTA talks
8-Sep-2006
South Korean officials expressed disappointment Thursday at what they believed were low tariff concessions suggested by the US in free trade talks under way in Seattle.
Big businesses rap US for call on Chaebol control
7-Sep-2006
The Federation of Korean Industries, Korea’s biggest business lobby group, has raised its voice against the United States’ demand for stricter rules on chaebols or family-run conglomerates in the free trade agreement talks between the two countries.
S Korea-US FTA talks open in Seattle amid protests
7-Sep-2006
Free trade negotiators from South Korea and the United States ended the first day of talks Wednesday, sending mixed signals that they achieved "some progress" but also faced "some challenges."
Trade-talk foes hit the streets
7-Sep-2006
Korean workers and farmers take the front line of a demonstration Wednesday against U.S. trade talks with South Korea. The midday march briefly stopped downtown traffic as demonstrators laid down in the streets around Westlake Park.
Lawmakers launch lawsuit against South Korea-U.S. FTA talks
7-Sep-2006
A group of 23 South Korean lawmakers on Thursday filed a suit with South Korea’s Constitutional Court, claiming that President Roh Moo-hyun’s administration’s move to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S. is unconstitutional.
Another bad backroom deal
7-Sep-2006
We’ve all been witness to the Bush administration’s half-truths. Now, it’s the same old song and dance with the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS-FTA) talks that are taking place in Seattle this week. While the administration boisterously makes claims about the wonders of free-trade agreements, the real story behind the rhetoric is: undemocratic, unfair and unconscionable.
US-Korea FTA talks bogging down
7-Sep-2006
During the third round of FTA negotiations between Korea and the US that started on September 6, the US required that trade related laws including fair trade laws should be strictly applied to the Korean companies including large conglomerates (known as Chae-bol) and this be clearly stated in an FTA agreement.
US wants stern regulations on S Korean conglomerates
7-Sep-2006
The United States was confirmed to have asked South Korea to include regulations on conglomerates in their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).
US wants Korea to throw broadcasting open wide
6-Sep-2006
The US wants Korea to open 11 service sectors including broadcasting and telecommunications, home delivery, legal and accounting services. In a third round of bilateral free-trade negotiations, the service sector is tipped to be the main stumbling block since Seoul has a mind to give in to few US demands except letting some US law firms operate here and some others.
Trade talk protesters promise no violence
6-Sep-2006
Mention "Seattle" and "trade talks" in the same sentence and you’ll send a chill through residents who remember December 1999, when destructive riots broke out during the World Trade Organization meeting.
Gov’t needs to open up about free trade deal
6-Sep-2006
South Korea and the United States will launch the third round of free trade negotiations in Seattle beginning September 6. Unlike the first and second rounds, both are expected to draw up detailed measures on market opening.