Korean, US business leaders vow to support FTA
ChosunIlbo, Korea
Korean, U.S. Business Leaders Vow to Support FTA
21 June 2006
Korea and U.S. business leaders agreed Wednesday to push for the completion of a free trade agreement between Korea and the U.S. But at the 19th Korea-U.S. Business Council meeting in Seoul, the two sides failed to see eye to eye on some key issues, especially whether products made in the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex should be included and whether Koreans should be granted a visa waiver in the U.S.
“A Korea-U.S. FTA will expand bilateral trade and benefit both nations by increasing investment, strengthening technological cooperation, and promoting personal exchanges,” the council’s Korean chairman Cho Suck-rae, the chairman of Hyosung Goup, said in an opening address. “To facilitate the FTA, the two sides need to persuade those opposing it in each nation.”
The council’s U.S. chairman William Rhodes, the senior vice chairman of Citigroup, said he expects the FTA will be concluded by the end of the year. “A Korea-U.S. FTA will serve as a momentum for Korea to consolidate its base to become a financial hub in Northeast Asia and to globalize its economy,” he added.
Giving a presentation on FTA negotiations and future prospects, Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong said, “It is important for Korea to bring up the issue of getting a preferential tariff for Kaesong-made products, while a visa waver would also affect public sentiment.”
But U.S. Ambassador to Korea Alexander Vershbow said it was unlikely that Korea and the U.S. come to an agreement recognizing Kaesong-made products, though he stressed this was his personal opinion.
Some 32 Korean and 64 U.S. business leaders attended the meeting. Invited speakers included from Korea Commerce, Energy and Industry Minister Chung Se-kyun, Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Lee Tae-shik, and Financial Supervisory Service Deputy Governor Lee Woo-chul, and from the U.S. Vershbow and Consul General Michael Kirby.
