Seoul attempts to appease farmers
International Herald Tribune
Seoul attempts to appease farmers
By Heejin Koo, Bloomberg News
MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2006
SEOUL — The South Korean government may offer more incentives for farmers and their families in an attempt to curb protests over its negotiations with the United States for a free-trade agreement, South Korea’s chief negotiator said Monday.
These plans are in addition to the 119 trillion won, or $125 billion, the government has already earmarked to support its 3.5 million farmers and help them increase competitiveness during the next 10 years, Trade Minister Kim Hyun Chong said.
"The Ministry of Agriculture is drawing up ideas for pension funds for farmers, an educational support system for their children, as well as public housing for their families," Kim said.
Kim’s comments come after about 8,000 farmers and protesters took to the streets of downtown Seoul during the weekend and held a rally to protest South Korea’s free-trade agreement negotiations with the United States. The two nations will begin formal talks in June for a $29 billion trade agreement, which would be the biggest accord of its type for the United States since 1994’s North American Free Trade Agreement.
The trade agreement may boost U.S. exports by $19 billion and increase imports from South Korea, its seventh- largest trading partner, by $10 billion, according to U.S. International Trade Commission data.
Kim said in February that both parties aim to complete discussions by the end of this year. The nations need to ratify the agreement by July 1, 2007, when the U.S. Trade Promotion Authority, which fast-tracks trade accords, expires.
"What the protesters need to bear in mind is that there is a minimum bottom line," Kim said. "I cannot sign an agreement which doesn’t meet our negotiating objectives, simply because time is ticking."
The South Korean government needs to overcome opposition within the country, particularly from farmers. South Korean activists, most of them farmers, staged the most vocal and violent protests during the World Trade Organization conference in Hong Kong in December, demanding that the South Korean government retract a law passed Nov. 23 allowing more imports of rice, the nation’s biggest cash crop.
SEOUL The South Korean government may offer more incentives for farmers and their families in an attempt to curb protests over its negotiations with the United States for a free-trade agreement, South Korea’s chief negotiator said Monday.
These plans are in addition to the 119 trillion won, or $125 billion, the government has already earmarked to support its 3.5 million farmers and help them increase competitiveness during the next 10 years, Trade Minister Kim Hyun Chong said.
"The Ministry of Agriculture is drawing up ideas for pension funds for farmers, an educational support system for their children, as well as public housing for their families," Kim said.
Kim’s comments come after about 8,000 farmers and protesters took to the streets of downtown Seoul during the weekend and held a rally to protest South Korea’s free-trade agreement negotiations with the United States. The two nations will begin formal talks in June for a $29 billion trade agreement, which would be the biggest accord of its type for the United States since 1994’s North American Free Trade Agreement.
The trade agreement may boost U.S. exports by $19 billion and increase imports from South Korea, its seventh- largest trading partner, by $10 billion, according to U.S. International Trade Commission data.
Kim said in February that both parties aim to complete discussions by the end of this year. The nations need to ratify the agreement by July 1, 2007, when the U.S. Trade Promotion Authority, which fast-tracks trade accords, expires.
"What the protesters need to bear in mind is that there is a minimum bottom line," Kim said. "I cannot sign an agreement which doesn’t meet our negotiating objectives, simply because time is ticking."
The South Korean government needs to overcome opposition within the country, particularly from farmers. South Korean activists, most of them farmers, staged the most vocal and violent protests during the World Trade Organization conference in Hong Kong in December, demanding that the South Korean government retract a law passed Nov. 23 allowing more imports of rice, the nation’s biggest cash crop.
