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Korea

FTA vital for East Asia says ADB
9-Feb-2006 Gulf Daily News
East Asia should set up a unified region-wide free trade pact to help boost trade and investment and further promote regional economic integration, the president of the Asian Development Bank said yesterday.
S. Korea, India aim to sign free trade deal by end of 2007
8-Feb-2006 Yonhap
South Korea and India announced Tuesday the start of negotiations aimed at signing a free trade deal by the end of next year, officials said.
Stars Fight Losing Battle Against Screen Quota Cut
7-Feb-2006
One of Asia’s best known movie stars stood in front of the National Assembly in Yoido, Seoul, holding a picket which read: ``Be a friend of the screen quota system and we will flap Taegukgi in the world.’’
Work for a win-win agreement
7-Feb-2006
The competition over "mating" between countries and regions through free trade agreements is unusual. One hundred and twenty free trade agreements have been entered to date - 95 of them in the past five years. Fifteen agreements were reached last year and 37 are currently underway. Immediately after he came into office in 2001, US President George W. Bush pushed to enter free trade agreements, saying the United States was behind the European Union in making such pacts.
FTA to ease NK nuclear concern
7-Feb-2006
A free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the United States would help ease concerns over North Korea’s nuclear weapons development, a high-ranking official said Tuesday.
S. Korea set to re-open FTA talks with Japan
7-Feb-2006 Yonhap
South Korea is willing to resume talks with Japan on a free trade agreement (FTA) if the latter promises to open its agricultural market wider, Seoul’s top economic policymaker said Saturday.
FTA deals a wild card: farmers
7-Feb-2006
To the delight of free traders and the apprehension of Korean farmers and other globalization foes, the United States and Korea announced Thursday that they would begin negotiations on a free trade agreement.
Outlook Hopeful as Trade Talks Begin
4-Feb-2006
Kim Hyun-jong, Korea’s trade minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Robert Portman, the United States Trade Representative, declared the start of preliminary ROK-U.S. ROK-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations at a joint press conference in the main hall of Capitol Building in Washington D.C. yesterday.
Support free-trade talks with S. Korea
4-Feb-2006
U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman’s newly announced plan to pursue a sweeping free trade agreement with South Korea is a bold step that, if done fairly, would be a win-win for the two nations, with long-term benefits for our economy.
Semiconductor Industry Association Applauds Launching U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement; Agreement Has Potential to Eliminate Trade Barriers
3-Feb-2006
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today applauded United States Trade Representative Rob Portman for initiating talks with Korea on a Free Trade Agreement.
Hopes and Fears: Haste Should Not Make Waste in Free Trade Talks
3-Feb-2006
The launch of free trade negotiations between Seoul and Washington Friday marks another watershed in the two allies’ overall relationship. Particularly in economic areas, the two countries will almost become one with 90 percent of trade being made without tariffs in a decade. Doubts are still strong about the need for hurrying into a free trade agreement with the world’s largest economy, but the die is cast. This is no longer a matter of whether or not but of how and what kind.
Car, Tech Industries Expected to Gain Most From FTA Deal
3-Feb-2006
Local automobile and information technology (IT) industries are expected to benefit most from the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA).
Film People Begin Protest Against Screen Quota Cut
3-Feb-2006
Members of the local film industry on Wednesday started their all-night relay rally against the government’s decision to halve the screen quota system.
Pact could mature alliance
2-Feb-2006 JoongAng
The relationship between Korea and the United States until now was a firm security alliance to prevent the spread of communism. The announcement of free trade agreement negotiations is an expression of a will to establish a more developed general alliance, not only in ideology and military on a security level, but also in economic gains.
S. Korea, US announce start of FTA negotiations
2-Feb-2006 Yonhap
South Korea and the United States announced Thursday they will start negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA). Formal negotiations will begin in May
Farmers break up hearing on US-South Korea FTA
2-Feb-2006 Reuters
Angry farmers have broken up a public hearing to discuss impending talks between South Korea and the US on establishing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), officials said.
AmCham wants coalition of film industries
2-Feb-2006
A reduction in the mandatory screening days for domestic films would pave the way for a coalition between the film industries of South Korea and the United States, said Tami Overby, president of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Korea, Wednesday.
S. Korea, U.S. preparing for trade talks
2-Feb-2006
South Korea and the United States could announce as early as this week their intention to launch formal negotiations aimed at a free trade accord seen as the biggest for the U.S. since the landmark North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994.
Time running short for FTA, says US biz lobby
1-Feb-2006
Seoul-based American business leaders Wednesday called for more predictability, consistency and transparency in government policies, saying there is an extra mile to go for a business climate that offers global standards.
US businesses in Korea renew call for early FTA
1-Feb-2006
The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea has renewed a call for early conclusion of a free-trade agreement between the U.S. and Korea. AMCHAM president Tami Overby on Wednesday reminded reporters that a congressional authority for the U.S. government to expedite FTAs expires in June 2007 and time is therefore very short.