South Korea is willing to reopen talks with the U.S. to address some outstanding issues in their free trade accord, but will not agree to revise the accord itself that was signed three years ago, a senior trade official said Wednesday.
The two countries signed a free trade agreement (FTA) in 2007 after nearly two years of
negotiations, but the accord still awaits ratification in the legislatures of both countries.
U.S. President Barack Obama's Democratic government insists that non-tariff issues related to autos and beef should be addressed before it seeks congressional ratification.
"Our stance is that we cannot rewrite the accord itself," Choi Seok-young, deputy minister for trade, said in a radio program.
Last month, Obama, after a meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Canada, said he
hopes to see those outstanding issues resolved before year's end so that his government can ask
congress to approve the agreement early next year.
Choi said the U.S., however, has not made any concrete proposals or offers for working-level talks to resolve some outstanding issues.
U.S. officials said they want to address concerns over the lopsided auto trade and restricted shipment of U.S. beef before bringing the deal to Congress.
Many lawmakers in the U.S. have complained about the pact's auto provisions, which they claimed did too little to tear down South Korea's "non-tariff barriers" to U.S. auto imports.
In the case of beef trade, cited as one of the two major hurdles to the ratification of the free trade deal, the U.S. wants South Korea to lift restrictions on the shipment of beef.
South Korea imports beef only from cattle less than 30 months old due to fear over mad cow
disease. The United States recorded three cases of the disease between 2003 and 2006. In response,
Seoul banned imports of U.S. beef in 2003.
The South Korean government resumed imports of U.S. beef in late 2008 despite concerns among
Koreans about mad cow disease, which led to months of street rallies.
U.S. beef exports to South Korea reached US$216 million last year, making South Korea the fourth- biggest importer of U.S. beef products, according to industry statistics.