South Korea and the United States completed a third consecutive day of talks Thursday but could not settle differences over auto tariffs, as they aim to present a free trade agreement (FTA) to their legislatures early next year.
An aide for U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said discussion may continue late into the night, but added, "You cannot expect any readout or
anything else tonight."
Asking for anonymity, she did not confirm whether or not the talks will continue Friday, but said she may be able to confirm it early Friday.
Emerging from a late afternoon session at a hotel in Columbia, Maryland, South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said, "We need some time before finalizing a deal, and we will continue discussing with the U.S. side."
Kirk, watching a baseball game on television at the hotel lobby during a recess, told reporters, "We are working hard," without giving any further remarks.
Kim and Kirk had several negotiating sessions during the day.
They were scheduled to conclude the talks Wednesday, but extended them in a last-minute effort to strike a deal that the sides can present for ratification early next year.
Seoul officials said it will take a month for the sides to draft the wording of an agreement even if one is reached this week. Kim said Tuesday the U.S. side may have to visit South Korea later for additional discussions.
Autos and beef have served as the major hurdles to the ratification of the Korea FTA, signed in 2007 under the Bush administration.
Focus, however, has been on autos as South Korea has refused to discuss the key beef issue: possible shipments of cuts from cattle older than 30 months. Fears of mad cow disease led to weeks of street rallies that almost paralyzed the Lee Myung-bak administration in early 2008 after Lee's decision to resume U.S. beef imports.
The U.S. beef industry recognizes the sensitivity of the issue and does not want to jeopardize the rapid increase in beef exports to South Korea since 2008.
Beef was not discussed during the talks that began Tuesday, Kim said.
Instead, the talks have been focused on to what extent Seoul will ease safety and environmental standards and delay the elimination of the 2.5 percent tariff on most autos and auto parts, as well as a phase-out of the 25 percent tariff on light trucks.
The U.S. exported 5,878 automobiles to South Korea last year. South Korean auto shipments to the U.S. totaled 476,833 last year, according to
the United Auto Workers.
Sources said South Korea is resisting U.S. demands for a longer phaseout for a U.S. car tariff, while insisting the U.S. make concessions in agriculture to compensate for any extension of the elimination of auto tariffs.
U.S. President Barack Obama said in Seoul early last month that auto trade poses a bigger obstacle than beef and pledged to complete the talks "within weeks, not months," although he missed his earlier, self-imposed deadline of mid-November.
The Korea FTA is seen as a barometer for Obama's commitment to free trade as he seeks to double exports within five years as a means of creating jobs.
Many congressional Democrats oppose the trade deal for fear of possible job cuts amid the current recession, but free trade is seen as one of the potential areas of close cooperation between Obama and congressional Republicans, who regained control of the House in the midterm elections.
Obama has voiced his desire to present the deal to Congress early next year. Failure to do so would likely doom the FTA, as Republicans vow to focus on domestic issues, including taxes and a reversal of Obama's health care reform policy, ahead of the presidential election in 2012.
Independent studies show the FTA with South Korea would create 240,000 jobs in the U.S. and increase annual two-way trade by more than $20 billion, up from $83 billion.
The U.S. goods trade deficit with South Korea was $10.6 billion in 2009, down $2.8 billion from 2008, according to U.S. figures. The comparable
figure for the first six months of this year was $421 million on $55 billion in total trade volume.
During the same period, the U.S. deficit with China was $115 billion and that with Japan and Germany $18 billion each, according to South Korean government figures.