S Korea has no plans for renegotiation of FTA with US: vice minister
The Hankyoreh, Seoul
S. Korea has no plans for renegotiation of FTA with U.S.: vice minister
6 April 2007
Yonhap News - South Korea has no plans to renegotiate a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, a high-ranking government official said Friday.
"While there may be discussions in the U.S. Congress of holding further talks...the government has no intention (to hold more negotiations)," Vice Finance Minister Chin Dong-soo said in a radio interview.
Earlier in the week, South Korea and the U.S. wrapped up the FTA talks just in time to have the deal covered under the U.S. trade promotion authority, which expires in July.
However, speculation of additional talks was afloat when U.S. Trade Representative Deputy Karan Bhatia made clear earlier that Congress would not approve the FTA without a promise that the Asian trading partner would fully reopen its beef market to the U.S.
Chin assessed that the details of the FTA were well done, crediting the meticulous work of experts and officials during the eight rounds of talks.
The vice minister also stressed that a plan for an FTA with China must be given "considerable thought" due to the expected difficulties of South Korea opening up its agriculture sector to China.
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on Thursday expressed hope that his country can soon reach an FTA with South Korea following ongoing joint studies on a trade pact.
