FTA Talks Pick Up Steam
SOUTH KOREA - Free trade agreement (FTA) talks between South Korea and the United States are picking up steam as the two sides hope to wrap up negotiations before an April 2 deadline.
6 March 2007
1 minute read
President Roh Moo-hyun and his American counterpart George W. Bush have expressed their strong hopes for a successful conclusion of the talks.
But skepticism is still prevalent among some activists and economists as Korea is seen as gaining little from an FTA with the world’s largest economy, while the deal will benefit the U.S. more.
Despite a series of anti-FTA protests, the Korean government has kept pace with its counterpart in a bid to sign the agreement during President Roh Moo-hyun’s tenure which ends in February 2008.
Regardless of the respective gains by Korea and the U.S. in the 19 agenda items, the issue of Korea’s import of U.S. beef apparently holds the key to gauging the outcome _ a final agreement or breakdown.
High-level officials of the two countries are holding two days of agriculture talks in Washington, D.C., from Monday to narrow differences before the last round of FTA talks.
Source: The Korea Times
