Korea-U.S. FTA

Kim Jong-Hoon Profile

Korea.net profiles chief negotiator, and now Trade Minister, Kim Joon-Hoon: Kim Jong-hoon, steering path for Korea-U.S. FTA:

Kim entered officialdom as a career diplomat after passing the related civil examination in 1974. Starting from 1994, he served as a councilor at the Korean Embassy in Washington and at the Consul General in San Francisco in 2002. During his days in the states, he took part in various negotiations over the export of foreign cigars, deciding on the expiration date for American frozen meat and so forth. This is where he honed his skill as a top negotiator, building his reputation on his ability to tackle politically and diplomatically sensitive issues. Well informed on U.S. affairs, he also boasts extensive connections there.

Meanwhile Kim is also known as a mania for extreme sports. He picked up paragliding at age fifty. Other sports he has proven to be quite adept at include kite boarding, snowboarding, motorcycle racing and cliff hanging. “The farther you fly, the farther you can see,” he said.

Corrected spelling in title, Dec 24.

Shocking revelations?

Lee Ha-won, the Chosun Ilbo's Washington correspondent, reports that Korea's chief negotiator, Kim Jong-hoon, wasn't always completely honest with his opposite number, or the press: What the FTA Talks Taught Us (July 3):

Korea and the visa waiver program

During the two weeks leading up to June 29, the U.S. and Korea met to discuss changes sought by the U.S. to comply with new trade negotiation guidelines from the Democratic Congress.  Final agreement was reached on Friday, June 29, in time for signing of the agreements on Saturday the 30th.

I haven't found the text of the final agreement, or seen much detail on the changes to it, or the side-agreements, agreed to on 29th.  The U.S. sought tighter labor and environmental conditions, and could offer less restrictive conditions on generic drugs.

Moreover (Additional KOR-US FTA Negotiations Concluded , DongA Ilbo,June 30):

The U.S. promised to help Korea be included in its Visa Waiver Program (VWP), and it will not raise the issue of Korean pharmaceutical companies manufacturing generic drugs for 1.5 years after the trade agreement goes into effect.

In the meantime, George W. Bush, the U.S. president, will reportedly announce a statement on June 30 (local time) that his government will proactively entertain the possibility of including Korea as one of the beneficiaries of its VWP.

On Saturday, the day the agreement was signed, President Bush did call on Congress to include Korea in a visa waiver program (Bush pledges effort for Korea's visa waiver, urges Congress to ratify Korea FTA (The Hankyoreh, June 30):

U.S. President George W. Bush on Saturday pledged to work with Congress to include South Korea and others in a visa waiver program (VWP) while urging lawmakers to ratify the just-signed free trade agreement (FTA) with the Asian nation.

In a released statement, Bush recalled his announcement in November seeking modifications to the VWP to offer it to Central and Eastern European nations and other allies including South Korea.

"I am committed to continuing to work with Congress to produce legislation that would strengthen our country's security by implementing this initiative," he said.

It is in U.S. interests to facilitate travel to the U.S. while preventing terrorists from exploiting such benefits, he said.

The statement came just after South Korea and the U.S. signed the FTA, starting a process of removing tariff and non-tariff barriers to goods and services flowing between the two countries.

Established in 1986, the VWP currently covers 27 nations. No country has been added to the program since 1999, and efforts to expand it have been discouraged following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Although the visa program is not a part of the FTA, the South Korean government has been pressing Washington for inclusion when negotiating the trade pact.

The U.S. also pledged to provide visa quotas for professionals, allowing specialists to work in each other's country. It would be similar to a program already in place between the U.S. and Australia, under which 10,500 such visas are issued annually.

South Korean officials said they would seek a bigger quota than for Australia, but need to work out measures to cross-recognize certificates....

Revised KORUS FTA signed today

The U.S. and Korea signed the FTA agreement today, after Korea agreed to certain revisions this past week.  Mark Drajem reports for Bloomberg: South Korea, U.S. Sign Free-Trade Accord; Fight Looms (June 30):

South Korea and the U.S. signed a free-trade agreement today that aims to open the Korean economy to more foreign investment and forge new links for American companies with the fast-growing Asian region.

The agreement, which faces opposition from Democratic leaders in the U.S. Congress, was signed by U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun Chong in Washington today. It's estimated to add $29 billion to the countries' $78 billion-a-year commercial relationship....

Yesterday, Democratic leaders in the House said they wouldn't support the bill as it is, singling out its car and truck provisions as a special concern.  Today, however, Schwab ruled out further changes to the agreement:

Schwab ruled out making any future amendments to the agreement in order to garner more votes from lawmakers: ``This agreement will stand,'' she said at the ceremony on Capitol Hill.

June's Supplementary Negotiations: Round 2

Korea and the U.S. have started a second round of negotiations to adapt the FTA to take account of the new provisions required by Congress on May 10 (Additional Congressional Trade Policy Guidance): S. Korea, U.S. begin second round of FTA revision talks (Yonhap News, June 26):

South Korea and the United States on Monday began a second round of negotiations here [in Washington - Ben] on potential revisions to their draft free trade agreement (FTA) that needs to be signed by the presidents by the end of the week.

Kim Hyun-chong, South Korea's trade minister, went into the three-day talks with his American counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, after a brief photo opportunity without taking any questions from the press.

Another story from The Hankyoreh covers the same ground: South Korea, U.S. to hold more talks on FTA revisions this week (June 25).  Neither story gives information on the content of the discussions.

Last week's first round was conducted at the ambassadorial level between chief trade negotiators Wendy Cutler and Kim Jong-hoon.  This week its been taken up a notch to the Ministerial level. Everyone's working against a June 30 (Saturday) target for signing of the agreements in order to meet U.S. trade promotion authority requirments.

June's supplementary negotiations

The U.S. is interested in revising or creating an interpretation of the agreement so that understandings are consistent with the provisions of the agreement between the Administration and Congress in May 10 [see The content of changes in U.S. trade negotiating policy (May 11, with later revisions); The Administration's trade treaty with Congress (May 24, with lots of later revisions); What Are the Implications of the Trade Treaty Between the Administration and Congress? (June 5)]

The U.S. and Korea discussed the U.S. proposals this week on the 21st and 22nd in the Foreign Ministry building in Seoul. 

Korea agrees to reopen negotiations

The U.S. requested a reopening last Saturday.  Here's the Korean Foreign Ministry press release: U.S. Makes Official Proposal Relating to New Trade Policy (June 16):

Supplemental negotiations on Thursday?

On Saturday, the U.S. requested additional negotiations on seven issues, in order to factor in the new trade negotiating policy agreed to by the President and Congress earlier this spring. 

Wendy Cutler, the chief U.S. negotiator, will go to Seoul this coming Thursday and Friday to explain the U.S. position and explore the Korean response: U.S. Asks for FTA Renegotiations in Seven Areas (Chosun Ilbo, June 18); Korea, U.S. to Begin Supplemental FTA Negotiations Next Thursday (BBC World, June 18).

KORUS FTA

This post is pulled over without change from my other blog.

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I'm going to pull together a set of annotated links to web based materials on the U.S. - So. Korea FTA negotiations over the next few months. 

This post is subject to ongoing correction, revision, reorganization, and elaboration.  Last updated June 15.

This post pulls together a large number of different types of web material.  Several surveys or reports have been particularly useful.  These include:

What did the U.S. and Korean negotiators agree to?

Evan Ramstad describes key features of the trade agreement for the Wall Street Journal (U.S.-Korea Trade Deal Still Faces Hurdles (April 3).  He says that the final text won't be available for "a week or two."  Meanwhile, we know a few things: