The U.S. and South Korea are working towards a Friday deadline to conclude negotiations on thier free trade agreement (FTA). After that, they will not be able to take advantage of the existing U.S. trade promotion authority.
The Hankyoreh carries this Yonhap News report: S. Korea, U.S. struggle to bridge differences in final FTA talks (March 26):
The 10-month-long negotiations between Seoul and Washington to forge a bilateral free trade agreement have down to the wire, with both sides still upbeat about the possibility of striking a deal by this weekend.
The goal is to take advantage of U.S. President George W. Bush's "fast-track" trade promotion authority which expires on July 1. That authority binds U.S. officials to submit a deal by April 2 for a mandatory 90-day congressional review for a simple yes-or-no vote without amendments.
Friday (Washington time), or Saturday morning (Seoul time) is the last working day before the April 2 deadline. South Korean officials said this week's negotiations will continue up to the U.S.-set deadline....
This week's closed-door negotiations are led by ministerial-level officials, South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Karan Bhatia.
Key outstanding issues:
Their mission is to make a "package deal" on those outstanding issues, which both sides said include automobiles, agricultural products, anti-dumping remedies and pharmaceuticals.
and:
Another big obstacle is a trade row over U.S. beef imports to South Korea. Although the issue isn't technically part of free trade negotiations, U.S. officials warn that their lawmakers won't approve a deal unless the beef issue is amicably resolved.
Seoul had banned U.S. beef imports for three years because of a mad cow disease scare. After agreeing to buy only boneless U.S. beef last year, it turned back three shipments totaling 22.3 tons after bone chips were found in them.
Before the 2003 import ban, South Korea was the U.S.'s third largest beef market, with annual purchases reaching $850 million.
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