Text Fwd: [Hankyoreh Editorial] Bringing fairness to the KORUS FTA 한미 FTA 에 공정함을 가져오기

Hankyoreh한겨레
[Editorial] Bringing fairness to the KORUS FTA
Posted on : Nov.18,2010

Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon’s confirmation that the U.S. government forcefully demanded revisions to the text of the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) during negotiations last week is cause for concern. This confirmation came during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee meeting. Kim also said he intended to “continue discussions toward guiding out an alternative that both sides can accept.” In short, he declared his willingness to accept renegotiations aimed at amending the text of the agreement.

Up until this point, the Lee Myung-bak administration, which has led KORUS FTA negotiations, has responded to popular calls for revisions to provisions disadvantageous to South Korea by steadfastly maintaining that there would be “no renegotiation.” It has also led FTA discussions without consulting National Assembly lawmakers, and relevant groups including the auto, agriculture, and textile sectors.

These calls for removing disadvantages grew in force as the Lee administration agreed to discuss additional demands from the United States. After ignoring all the critical public opinion and revision demands from politicians, however, it immediately complied when the U.S. applied pressure. The Lee administration’s attitude suggests that it will close its ears to domestic demands while acceding to those of the United States. The trade minister says that they are searching for a plan agreeable to both countries, but the formalizing renegotiations is nothing more than a procedure for finding additional ways to make concessions to the United States.

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