S. Korea seeks exception for rice in US FTA
Korea Times | 10 April 2006
S. Korea Seeks Exception for Rice in US FTA
By Lee Jin-woo
Staff Reporter
Acting Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Monday the government would seek exceptional conditions for rice and a few other selected items during its negotiations over a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
During an interpellation session at the National Assembly in Seoul, Han, who concurrently serves as minister of finance and economy, said the government is considering various methods to minimize possible negative impacts the FTA would have on the nation’s agricultural industries especially the rice market.
Han has been serving as acting prime minister since his predecessor, Lee Hae-chan, resigned from the post over a controversial golf game last month.
``We’re preparing negotiation strategies in order to obtain exceptional conditions for a few very sensitive items, especially rice,’’ Han said.
Han added the government will introduce a package of alternative measures to protect the livelihood of those who are involved in agricultural industries after both the FTA talks and the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), which was launched at the WTO’s Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, in 2001, are completed.
Quoting research results by the state-funded Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI), the acting premier did not rule out the possibility that the ongoing FTA could seriously damage the local farming industries.
Once the FTA with the United States is completed, the total annual production amount of local agricultural industries, which is estimated to be some 20 trillion won ($19 billion), would drop to 19 to 18 trillion won, he said.
He also expected it would be inevitable for some 70,000 to 140,000 people currently engaged in farming businesses to lose their jobs.
Experts, however, said it is livestock industries, not the rice market, which are feared would be hit the hardest by the FTA as the National Assembly has already ratified the rice talks, thereby granting the nation another 10-year waiver on full ratification on rice imports, last year.
In 2004, Korea signed an agreement with nine rice-exporting countries, including the United States, in order to gain another 10-year grace period from market liberalization based on the 1994 Uruguay Round agreement, which ended in the same year.
According to the KREI report, the financial damage that the nation’s stockbreeders could face is expected to account for some 37.5 percent of the total estimated damage of 2 trillion won. Some local economic research institutes expected the nation’s farmers might suffer total damage up to 8.8 trillion won due to the market opening.
In addition, Han pledged the government would not take a hasty attitude in the negotiations despite pressure from the United States calling for a swift end to the FTA talks by March next year.
In February, South Korea and the United States announced the start of negotiations on the FTA that would eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers for goods and services traded between the two countries.
Washington has requested Korea conclude the talks by early spring next year, at the latest, for the FTA to pass through the U.S. Congress before the Trade Act expires at end of June.
According to the act, the Congress cannot demand amendments to FTAs drafted with partner countries and must either reject or accept them as is.
