South Korea Rules Out Renegotiating Trade Pact With US
January 21 2009 - 11:00PM
Dow Jones News
SEOUL (AFP)--South Korea's trade minister Thursday ruled out
renegotiating a free-trade agreement with the U.S. despite calls by
the new U.S. administration for changes in the pact.
The comments came a day after the inauguration of President
Barack Obama, who has called the deal "badly flawed" and charged it
does too little to narrow a huge imbalance in the auto trade in
Seoul's favor.
"Even if the U.S. proposes renegotiations of the free-trade
deal, we don't need to respond to it," Minister Kim Jong-hoon told
a KBS radio show.
The agreement signed in 2007 awaits ratification by both
countries' legislatures.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cited an imbalance in
the auto trade during her confirmation hearing this month.
In written responses to questions from the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, she said the pact gives South Korean auto
exports "essentially untrammeled access" to the U.S., while the
U.S. would have no leverage to break down Seoul's non-tariff
barriers.
"If the South Koreans are willing to reengage negotiations on
these vital provisions of the agreement, we will work with them to
get to resolution," she said.
South Korea shipped about 700,000 cars to the U.S. in 2007 while
importing 5,000 U.S. cars, official figures show.
Some analysts say the figures are misleading, since they exclude
more than 125,000 vehicles made by a General Motors Corp. (GM)
subsidiary in Korea while including vehicles made by a Hyundai
(011760.SE) plant in Alabama.
"If the U.S. automakers want to increase their market share in
South Korea, the KORUS FTA (Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement) will
be a good opportunity for them," Kim said. "All the things they
have sought for years are included in the pact."
The trade pact would be the largest for the U.S. since the North
American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico in 1994.
U.S.-South Korea trade was worth $78.4 billion in 2007.
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