Korea, US call for win-win free trade
Korea Times
Korea, US Call for Win-Win Free Trade
By Park Hyong-ki, Staff Reporter
20 June 2006
In a welcoming speech at an evening reception in Seoul Tuesday, ahead of the 19th Korea-U.S. Business Council meeting, top businesspeople and government officials from Korea and the United States heard Hyosung Group, and council joint-chairman Cho Suck-rai, stress the importance of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
Calling for a successful conclusion to the free trade deal, Cho said it would not only strengthen Korea-U.S. ties but would also boost the economic prosperity of both nations.
Korea-U.S. FTA negotiations began in Washington earlier this month with a second round scheduled for Seoul next month. Both sides are aiming to seal the deal by next March.
Guest speaker at the reception, Finance and Economy Minister Han Duck-soo echoed Cho’s words saying the bilateral trade pact will help both countries further open their markets, leading to greater productivity and competitiveness.
He went on to say that the FTA is a prerequisite for prolonged economic growth and is the basic step for developing sound and flexible economic policy to meet global standards.
Also, Korea’s top economic policymaker put importance on achieving a win-win FTA, based on mutual understanding.
Forty-nine Korean business executives and lawmakers joined 59 officials from the U.S., including American joint-chairman of the council William Rhodes, and some 120 representatives from foreign invested companies here to talk of the on-going bilateral free trade pact, and economic and political issues among others.
The Korea-U.S. Business Council is held jointly by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Korean Industries every year and aims at boosting bilateral trade and investment ties.
