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By Jung Eun-joo

South Korea and the United States finally reached an agreement after their intense renegotiations of free trade deal (KORUS FTA) on Friday.

“We have produced a substantial outcome on the autos and other limited areas during the ongoing talks,” South Korea Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk told reporters after four days of talks at a hotel in Columbia, Maryland.

South Korea had reportedly insisted on U.S. concessions in agriculture in return for accepting most of U.S. demands for wider access to the South Korean auto market. South Korea has reportedly agreed to maintain the 2.5 percent tariff on South Korean cars for five years. South Korea and U.S. have to revise the text of current KORUS FTA which calls for the elimination of the tariff on cars with the displacement of 3,000cc or less immediately and on cars more than 3,000 within three years.

The talks were initially scheduled for two days but extended to a fourth straight day because of the last-minute efforts for a deal over tariffs on automobiles.

Both governments plan to sign on the revised KORUS FTA by this year and hope to finish the ratification of legislatures next year. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called for early ratification of the revised KORUS FTA, according to the Cheong Wa Dae Saturday.

South Korea’s parliamentary ratification, however, appears to face a difficult battle ahead, as many say South Korea has given more concessions.

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