hankyoreh

The South Korean government - which had firmly maintained it would not renegotiate a free trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S. signed April 2 - has now, under U.S. pressure, taken renegotiation as a fait accompli.

During a meeting of the National Assembly’s special FTA committee on May 22, Korea’s top negotiator Kim Jong-hoon said, "We willl thoroughly see if the U.S. renegotiation request can go toward mutual benefits for both sides. We are considering what to request to the U.S. as both sides try to maintain a balance and examine possible mutual benefits."

The top trade negotiator refused to give details, saying, "We have not received any formal request for renegotiation from Washington. Even if we received the U.S. proposal, we could not publicly disclose the details." He then added, "I believe the U.S. won’t demand a renegotiation of the automobile and beef sectors."

Though no formal request has come from Washington, lawmakers there have stressed the need to negotiate the trade deal in light of new U.S. regulations agreed upon between Congress and the Bush administration on May 10 that concern issues of labor and the environment in future FTAs. While the South Korea-U.S. FTA was signed on April 2, it still faces ratification from lawmaking bodies in the two nations, so a U.S. request for renegotiation is a distinct possibility.

Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon of the pro-government Uri party asked top negotiator Kim Jong-hoon during the assembly’s FTA committee meeting, "How about suggest the renegotiation of the pharmaceutical sector on our part in return for the U.S.’s request for renegotiations on labor and the environment? According to the government report," the lawmaker continue, "the U.S. approved renegotiations aimed at easing the monopoly held by U.S. firms on materials used in pharmaceuticals in the other party’s market in FTAs with Latin American nations such as Peru, Panama, and Columbia, but not South Korea. Isn’t it unfair that the U.S. made these concessions while demanding South Korea to follow labor and environmental standards that are lacking in Latin American nations, as well?"

In response, the top negotiator said, "I agree with you; we will consider this type of issue for renegotiation."

At the meeting, the top negotiator continued, "As far as I have confirmed through a diplomatic channel, a renegotiation of labor-related provisions would be aimed at meeting the International Labor Organization (ILO)’s 1998 five basic labor standards, including freedom of association, not at forcing [South Korea] to sign off on all the provisions of the ILO treaty on labor standards."

South Korea has not signed two of the ILO’s five basic international labor standards, the freedom of association and right to collective bargaining, but it has signed the remaining three standards: the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor, the effective abolition of child labor, and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. The new U.S. regulations on new FTAs underscore the need to observe the ILOs five standards; in this light, Korea’s strict union and assembly laws have been targeted in particular by U.S. lawmakers calling for the renegotiation of the FTA.

In relation to the possibility that, when violations of provisions regarding labor and environment occur, Washington would retaliate with punitive trade measures against South Korean products, the top negotiator said, "The U.S. will balk at doing so because it is not free from problems in connection with illegal immigrant workers as well as with racial discrimination in the workplace. There have been almost no cases in which issues in areas of labor and the environment between two trading nations resulted in such retaliatory measures," he continued.

Regarding why the U.S. has not yet requested the renegotiation to South Korea, top negotiator said, "As we declared there wouldn’t be renegotiation of the FTA, the U.S. administration may be thinking about how exactly to make its request."

In a separate press briefing on the same day, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo told reporters, "This will be an additional negotiation, not a renegotiation. Even if the U.S. requests an additional negotiation, we won’t necessarily have to follow its request. We are going to let the public know, whatever it may be. The written agreement [concluded on April 2] will be opened to the public this week," the prime minister continued.




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