Clinton: Obama Opposes Korea-US FTA

U.S. Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton said yesterday that the Korea-U.S. free trade deal has failed to secure fair trade conditions, adding certain critical provisions need renegotiation.

Clinton offered her comments in a written response submitted to the U.S. Senate prior to her confirmation hearing.

"U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has been opposing the South Korea-U.S. FTA, negotiated by the George W. Bush administration. Some provisions including those related with the service and IT sectors are favorable to U.S. companies. But, the U.S. failed to secure fair trade conditions in other sectors including the car industry,” she said.

She also took a firm attitude on North Korea.

“Sanctions against North Korea should be eased only when North Korea strictly keeps its promises. Unless North Korea does its duty, eased sanctions should be imposed again and new sanctions should be considered,” she said.

redfoot@donga.com