Obama and Lee give FTA another try
By Kelly Olsen |
November 3, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE leaders of South Korea and the United States agreed to try and finalize a long-stalled free trade deal ahead of a summit of major economies set for next week, the office of South Korea's president said yesterday.
Seoul and Washington negotiated the landmark agreement to slash tariffs and other barriers to trade in April 2007 and signed it three months later, but the deal has gone nowhere since.
Changes in government in both countries, the global economic slump and demands by the US that South Korea make concessions on trade in autos and beef have left it unratified by legislators.
President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak vowed in June to try and resolve differences by the time they meet at the Group of 20 summit of leading rich and emerging countries in Seoul, which takes place November 11-12.
South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk met last week in the US in a bid to achieve progress.
In a phone conversation yesterday morning, Lee and Obama agreed to make efforts to finalize the deal before the G-20 summit to promote free trade internationally and upgrade the South Korea-US alliance, Lee's office said in a brief statement.
Their bilateral trade totaled US$66.7 billion in 2009.
Efforts to achieve a breakthrough on the South Korea-US deal come as Seoul and the European Union signed a free trade agreement last month in Brussels, which aimed to take effect in July next year.
Seoul and Washington negotiated the landmark agreement to slash tariffs and other barriers to trade in April 2007 and signed it three months later, but the deal has gone nowhere since.
Changes in government in both countries, the global economic slump and demands by the US that South Korea make concessions on trade in autos and beef have left it unratified by legislators.
President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak vowed in June to try and resolve differences by the time they meet at the Group of 20 summit of leading rich and emerging countries in Seoul, which takes place November 11-12.
South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk met last week in the US in a bid to achieve progress.
In a phone conversation yesterday morning, Lee and Obama agreed to make efforts to finalize the deal before the G-20 summit to promote free trade internationally and upgrade the South Korea-US alliance, Lee's office said in a brief statement.
Their bilateral trade totaled US$66.7 billion in 2009.
Efforts to achieve a breakthrough on the South Korea-US deal come as Seoul and the European Union signed a free trade agreement last month in Brussels, which aimed to take effect in July next year.
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