US commerce secretary says time short for free-trade deal with SKorea
AP Interview: U.S. commerce secretary says time short for free-trade deal with SKorea
The Associated Press
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
SEOUL, South Korea
The U.S. commerce secretary warned Tuesday that time was running short to forge a free-trade agreement with South Korea, calling on Seoul to trim its list of dozens of products it claims are too sensitive to be included in the pact.
The two countries, which do US$72 billion (€57 billion) of trade with each other annually, were hoping to reach an agreement by the end of the year, but the latest round of negotiations in Montana earlier this month failed to bridge numerous gaps.
"We have very little time and we really do have to get on this because the benefits are very clear," U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez told The Associated Press in an interview at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.
Negotiators are under time pressure to complete an agreement because U.S. President George W. Bush’s authority to put trade agreements before Congress for a simple yes-or-no vote on a pact without any amendments runs out on July 1.
Gutierrez was to meet top South Korean officials this week and said he planned to raise concerns in four areas: pharmaceuticals, autos, agriculture and beef.
Agriculture issues, notably over rice, have stirred vocal opposition in South Korea to the trade pact with farmers engaging in loud protests against the deal.
Recently, Seoul also has turned back shipments of U.S. beef that were discovered to contain bone fragments. The move delayed a complete reopening of a market that was once the third-largest export destination for American beef. Korean authorities banned U.S. beef imports in December 2003 after the first case of mad cow disease was reported in the U.S.
Gutierrez declined to give specifics on what market-opening measures he would seek in meetings with the South Koreans.
But he mentioned a list of 235 products - including rice and citrus produce - that South Korea has identified as sensitive products it wanted as exceptions to the free-trade deal.
"Everyone has sensitive products, but 235 is just out of the question," Gutierrez said. "We’re starting out from a position that is clearly not reasonable.
"If you’re going to do a (free-trade agreement) and everything is sensitive, then it’s hard to make any progress," he said.
Gutierrez said he sought to impress on South Korea the chance it had by signing on to the free-trade agreement with the U.S. - making it the first country in northeast Asia to have such a deal with the world’s largest economy.
The deal would also be Washington’s largest free-trade agreement since it joined Canada and Mexico in the North American Free Trade Act of 1993.
"This will give them a very, very unique position economically in the context of northeast Asia and we shouldn’t let that slip away," he said.
The next round of the free-trade talks is expected in South Korea in January, and U.S. negotiators have said they want an agreement by early 2007.
"The negotiations have been very intense," Gutierrez said. "Now there is even more of an expectation and even more pressure for the next meeting."
