Wendy Cutler Rules Out Renegotiation of Korea-U.S. FTA

Wendy Cutler, the U.S. chief negotiator for the Korea-U.S. FTA talks, cleared up the U.S. position on a possible renegotiation, saying, “The U.S. has never mentioned a renegotiation of the Korea-U.S. FTA talks.”

She pointed this out in a press conference with Korean reporters who visited Washington, saying, “Some Korean people say that the U.S. will return to the negotiating table, but such remarks are very inaccurate.”

Her comment is interpreted as an attempt to prevent misunderstandings from her previous remarks made on a forum hosted by the Heritage Foundation in Washington. She mentioned, “The U.S. administration and Congress are discussing a wide range of labor and environment provisions of the FTA talks between the two countries, and after the consultation, I believe there should be some negotiations with Korean government later on.”

She added, “I have never received any pressure over renegotiation from anyone in the United States. Who said there would be a renegotiation?”

In a press meeting with Korean reporters, she admitted that there are some conflicting opinions between the two nations over some issues after the initial agreement of the talks and said, “We are going to release the previous agreement in order to eliminate all confusion.”

mickey@donga.com