This is a post on the fifth U.S. Korea FTA negotiating session in Montana in early December. I'll continue to revise and update this post, which supplements my overall post on the Korea-U.S. FTA negotiations: KORUSFTA .
Negotiators usually try and address easier issues in earlier negotiating rounds, and harder issues in later rounds. This round was originally supposed to be the last. These negotiations have moved slower than originally expected, and now another rounds is being set for January, and it is likely other rounds will follow. The negotiations have to be finished by the end of March if it is going to be possible to take advantage of U.S. Trade Promotion Authority rules that limit amendments to the agreement by Congress. (S. Korea, U.S. face tough showdown in new free trade talks , Kim Deok-hyun, Yonhap News, Dec 3).
Events since the end of the last negotiating session on Jeju Island in Korea (October in Jeju: KORUS FTA - the 4th Session, Ben Muse, Nov 7) have increased the potential difficulty of the negotiations. These events are described in more detail below, but they include the Democratic gains in the U.S. mid-term elections in early November, and Korean rejection of two U.S. beef shipments.
Time and place
The fifth round of the negotiation will take place in the U.S. at the Big Sky Montana ski resort from December 4 to 8. The previous, fourth round, took place on Jeju Island in Korea: October in Jeju: KORUS FTA - the 4th Session .
Why Big Sky? Kim Yon-se reports (Montana to Host Next FTA Talks, The Korea Times, Oct 31):
Continue reading "KORUS FTA V and VI: December in Big Sky" »