’National Consensus Crucial for FTA’
Korea Times
’National Consensus Crucial for FTA’
By Yoon Ja-young, Staff Reporter
2 July 2006
It is important to set up measures supporting those to be damaged by the free trade agreement (FTA) and induce national consensus to turn the FTA into a new growth engine, the president of the Dominican Republic said Saturday.
He said Korea as a whole needs to be aware of the need for the FTA to grant free access to the world’s largest market.
There was a national consciousness that we need permanent access to the U.S. market, as 85 percent of our export goes to the United States,'' said the Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez at a seminar held at Korea Development Institute (KDI) in Seoul. The Dominican Republic signed a free trade agreement with the United States, which will be implemented in a couple of months.
He said the FTA will bring new opportunities, suggesting Korean businesses should make investments in the Caribbean country. He said that as his country is only 15 minutes away from the United States' eastern sea border, it would provide easier access for Korean firms targeting eastern coast markets such as Florida, New York and Boston.It’s a triangulation model between Korea, Dominican Republic and the United States.’’
He said investors will get free access to NAFTA countries, as Dominican Republic is pursuing a free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico as well.
The farmers of the Dominican Republic also thought they were going to be hurt by the FTA, but the Dominican Republic tried to minimize the damage by negotiating on the timetable, he explained. For example, (for) rice, we negotiated a 20 year scheme. We allow a quota system of import.'' He said Korea would have time enough to adapt to the new situation if they followed a similar route.
He said the less privileged people of the agreement should be provided finances for fair trade.It should be free and fair. You have to level the playing field.’’
The Dominican president said Korea has a lot to teach the rest of the world, especially the Dominican Republic, as the country has followed a similar path to Korea over the last 40 years, transforming itself from an agricultural led economy into a manufacturing and labor intensive orientated one. ``And from there, the Dominican Republic is trying to make a shift into a knowledge economy.’’
