[Editorial] FTA Should Be Ratified on February 9 at Any Cost

On January 22, the Chilean Senate unanimously passed a ratification bill of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Korea in a special plenary session. The bilaterally-agreed FTA between Korea and Chile in the autumn of 2002 would have gone into effect earlier if our National Assembly had not previously cancelled the vote twice.

Once the FTA with Chile becomes effective, the annual prospective losses of South Korea’s farms may reach $40 million, and the trade surplus is estimated at $0.4~0.5 billion. The government has pledged to support more to cover the lost revenues to the affected farmers. The majority of the farmers’ associations also acknowledge that an FTA is inevitable. Nevertheless, some opposition farmers’ groups keep insisting forcibly on delaying the FTA until the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s agricultural talks come to terms. Since the future prospect of WTO negotiation is not clear enough, the FTA becomes more than necessary and major trade counterparts are becoming more ardent in expanding FTAs. However, among the 140 member nations of the WTO, only South Korea and Mongolia haven’t engaged an FTA with any single nation.

However late it may be, we should settle the FTA with Chile immediately. Moreover, it is an alternative for the nation’s sake to aggressively push forward the relationship with other nations. We cannot expect national growth without expanding exportations. Also, the support of farms and improving welfare and distribution of wealth cannot be realized without national growth.

In a New Year’s address, the National Farmers Group Associations criticized some assemblymen who are opposed to ratifying the FTA, saying they were defaming the farmers’ hope by chasing for the votes and seats rather than the future of agricultural industry. Postponement of FTA will then continue to broaden the hardships of the majority of normal taxpayers.

The National Assembly, as the speaker of National Assembly Park Kwan-yong pledged, should certainly pass the FTA between Korea and Chile on February 9, no matter how it exercises the power of guard. For this purpose, the government led by President Roh Moo-hyun, leader of the opposition Grand National Party Choe Byung-yul, leader of Millennium Democratic Party Chough Soon-hyung and other political party leaders had better devote themselves to effective efforts for the next 15 days. Otherwise, they will have no right to talk about the economy or the livelihood of the people.