I've been following the U.S. Korea FTA process at another blog (Korea-U.S. FTA) and I haven't cross-posted much here. But this story has an interesting lesson on bargaining.
Suh Jin-kyo, Director of trade and investment policy at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, says Korea should complete its trade agreement negotiations with the E.U. to put pressure on the U.S. (Proposal Made to Implement FTA With EU Ahead of US):
Seoul should complete a free trade agreement with the European Union as soon as it can to pressure the U.S. Congress to ratify the KORUS FTA as it is, an expert said Wednesday.
``If EU automakers are entitled to have preferential access to the Korean car market as a result of the accord, the United States would feel pressure,'' said Suh Jin-kyo, director of trade and investment policy at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP).
Suh made the remarks at a hearing on the KORUS FTA and its impact on major industries hosted by the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee chaired by Rep. Park Jin of the governing Grand National Party (GNP).
And there's other ways to apply the pressure:
In addition to the Korea-EU FTA, Suh singled out several other policy options that could possibly motivate the U.S. Congress to pass the trade accord while its key issues remain intact.
Suh said the government should announce its plan to commence a FTA with Northeast Asian countries.
``The U.S. government sees the KORUS FTA as a vehicle that can help preserve and expand its so-called strategic interests in the Northeast Asian region,'' he said.
Suh said the Korean government's seeking a trade deal with its neighboring countries, therefore, would alert the U.S. government and Congress as their interests are likely to be affected.
Edit: changed "persuasion" to "bargaining."
Comments