Korea-U.S. FTA

The Koreans aren't just going to give away concessions on autos and beef,

... they're going to want something in return.

The Dong-a Ilbo (New strategies prepared for next month`s FTA talks with US) reports that on Wednesday in Seoul, "a high-ranking official at the Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry" gave some hints about the Korean wish list:

The new plan is known to include the protection of Korea’s relatively vulnerable pharmaceuticals and agricultural markets. On pharmaceuticals, Seoul will ask Washington to delay by 18 months a ban on the sale of reproduced American drugs in Korea before the patents expire for the original drugs.

The Korean government will also strengthen safeguard measures for agricultural products.

In addition, adjustment of what Korean opposition parties call “poison pill” clauses is under review. These include the negative list system for services allowing the opening of all service products except those specifically prohibited and a ratchet clause that bars going back to pre-free trade deal days.

Seoul, however, will not exclude the maligned investor-state dispute settlement clause, which allows a private investor to legally challenge a host government`s public policy.

Outsourcing to Korea? Be careful and it should go well.

Sean Hayes at the Korean Law Blog says that you'll have fewer headaches if you outsource to Korea rather than India or China:

Microsoft likes KORUS FTA

Yonhap News reports that Microsoft has released a policy paper endorsing the trade agreement with Korea: Microsoft urges Obama to help approve Korea FTA:

How the New Law Opening the Korean Legal Market Works

Brian Rupp and Jae En Kim report on the new law that opens up the Korean legal market: Korean Legal Services Set to Open Up (Law.com, Feb 26).  They describe the new law as "the first measure the Korean government has taken to comply with the free trade agreement..."

The law opens the legal market in three stages:

The FTA and the Changing Korean Market For Lawyers

The trade agreement opens up the Korean legal market to U.S. firms.  The biggest Korean firm has just under 300 attorneys, the biggest U.S. firm has over 3,000.  Are the Korean firms about to be blown away?

In April 2007 The Korea Times published three stories on the possible impact of the agreement on the Korean law market: For Law Firms, Bigger Is Better (Kim Tong-hyung, April 15, 2007); ‘US Invasion’ Not Likely in Korean Law Market (Kim Tong-hyung, April 15, 2007); In-House Lawyers Take on Enhanced Role (Park Chung-a, April 30, 2007).

These stories were published just after negotiations ended and before the texts were released.  It's unclear to me how knowledgeable the reporters' different sources were about the specific content of the agreement.  At least one, who served as a consultant to Korean negotiators, was probably quite knowledgeable.

The legal services agreements are in Chapter 12: Cross-Border Trade in Services.  The Services Industry Advisory Committee report also contains a discussion of the agreement's impacts on legal services: Report of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Services and Finance Industries (April 2007).  The Advisory Committee explains that the agreement will be implemented in three phases:

Korea Opens Up Law Market, Somewhat

Kim Rahn reports on Korean action to begin to open up its legal market, in line with the trade agreement: Foreign Lawyers to Provide Limited Service (The Korea Times, February 5):

The FTA and the Market for Lawyers in Korea

The market for lawyers in Korea appears to have tightened up, as Korean law firms anticipate increased competition under the trade agreement: Law Firms Strive For Survival, Lawyers Welcome Open Legal Market (Dong-a, January 8, 2008):

The Trade Agreement and Trade in Financial Services

Is Korean trade key to growth in N.J. and U.S. (Mark Grier, The Times (Trenton), Dec 16, 2007)  That's possibly a little strong. 

The author is in the financial services industry.  The points he makes are rather general; despite its title, this isn't a detailed analysis of the benefits to New Jersey. 

But here are his comments on financial services:

Korea-U.S. Media Collaboration

If you're learning about it here, you missed today's forum on the 2007 Gyeonggi-Hollywood Connection: Creative Convergence through Collaboration (UCLA's Center for Korean Studies) too:

This mini-conference & mixer is intended to exchange expertise and values of U.S. & Korean American entertainment professionals to promote synergistic collaboration. By looking into successful Korean American content business models along with diverse & innovative distribution strategies, it seeks out the ways to generate creative convergence between Korea and Hollywood.

It's still worth going to the agenda and browsing through the lists of speakers and topics.

Gyeonggi-Do is Korea's most populous province.  It surrounds Seoul, borders North Korea, and includes the port of Incheon.  The forum was sponsored by the Gyeonggi Digital Contents Agency.

KFTA Assessment from Jeffrey Schott

The Peterson Institute has released an assessment of the FTA by Jeffrey Schott: The Korea-US Free Trade Agreement: A Summary Assessment (Policy Brief 07-7, August 2007).

Schott is a supporter.  This survey is tightly focused on a few issues.  Separate sections deal with autos, agriculture, services, the Kaesong industrial complex, implications for trade relations in the Asia-Pacific, and the prospects for ratification in the U.S.  Schott doesn't draw on, or add to, the general equilbrium modeling.  The abstract: