U.S. Rejects Korean Trade Proposal

Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations face an uphill battle after the U.S. delegation refused to accept Korea’s proposal for a trade remedy, including anti-dumping process provisions. The Ministry of Trade and Foreign Affairs said on December 28 that the Bush administration submitted reports containing its refusal to Korea’s proposal to Congress on December 27.

The report explains why the U.S. refused the proposal, which requires the U.S. to revise laws to accept it regarding trade remedy. The report, however, adds that U.S. will negotiate all proposals of the Korean delegation and continue to cooperate with Congress.

The report comes in accordance with regulations, which grant administration Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) rights and require it to report any trade remedy changes to Congress 180 days before the TPA expiration date. Deputy Chief of Korean delegation Lee Hye-min said about the report, “It is discouraging, but there is a room for negotiation. And upcoming negotiations will determine how much our proposal on improving trade remedies will be accepted.”

While reviewing the report’s legality, the ministry will continue efforts to convince the U.S. by presenting other proposals or amending the proposal.

Earlier this month, Korea called for the U.S. to accept all five proposals including the enhancement of anti-dumping procedure in the fifth round of FTA negotiations in Big Sky Montana. If the U.S. had agreed on remedy proposals, Korea would have accepted U.S. proposals in other areas in a ‘give-and-take’ way. But negotiations are expected to be stalemated due to the U.S. rejection.

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