Seoul and Washington agree 'in principle' on FTA amendment
- 6 years ago
Seoul and Washington appear to be in their final stages of their bilateral free trade agreement negotiations.
South Korea has agreed to a number of U.S. demands on cars, but has won guarantees for its agriculture and steel sectors.
Seoul also secured a permanent exemption from the Trump administration's new steel tariffs.
Kim Hyesung with more.
Right after he reported to the Cabinet, South Korea's Trade Minister, Kim Hyun-jong, held a press conference Monday to explain the results of the negotiations on the Korea-US. Free Trade Agreement.
"Uncertainty has been growing in the global market following the U.S. plan to impose sanctions on China, and the latest agreement has removed two of those uncertainties. One, South Korea is exempt from the steel tariff. Second is the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. "
Kim, Seoul's pointman on trade talks, said South Korea is the first country to receive an indefinite exemption from Washington's 25-percent steel tariff measures.
Currently, five countries, including Canada and Mexico, plus the EU, received a temporary exemption from the U.S. import duties on steel and aluminum that went into effect last week.
In exchange, the U.S. will introduce a steel import ceiling.
South Korea's quota will be set at 2-point-6-8 million tons of steel exports a year, or 70% of its average annual shipments to the U.S. between 2015 to 2017.
Seoul has also agreed to lift some its safety and environmental regulations, and allow U.S. automakers to ship Korea up to 50-thousand vehicles each, up from 25-thousand previously.
Tariffs imposed on Korean pickup trucks exported to the U.S will be extended by 20 years to 2041.
South Korea on the other hand, secured revisions to the investor-state dispute settlement clause and other areas it has demanded since start of the trade talks.
We defended the red line. There is no further opening of agricultural markets or mandatory use of U.S. auto parts.
In addition, the two sides agreed to improve the transparency of the trade dispute settlement process, which covers issue like anti-dumping duties.
The tentative agreement comes less than three months since the first round of trade talks began.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also described the agreement as an absolute win-win in an interview with Fox News Sunday, local time.
South Korea's trade ministry said working-level officials are ironing out the details so that Seoul and Washington can finalize their amendments to the six-year-old trade deal soon.
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.
South Korea has agreed to a number of U.S. demands on cars, but has won guarantees for its agriculture and steel sectors.
Seoul also secured a permanent exemption from the Trump administration's new steel tariffs.
Kim Hyesung with more.
Right after he reported to the Cabinet, South Korea's Trade Minister, Kim Hyun-jong, held a press conference Monday to explain the results of the negotiations on the Korea-US. Free Trade Agreement.
"Uncertainty has been growing in the global market following the U.S. plan to impose sanctions on China, and the latest agreement has removed two of those uncertainties. One, South Korea is exempt from the steel tariff. Second is the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. "
Kim, Seoul's pointman on trade talks, said South Korea is the first country to receive an indefinite exemption from Washington's 25-percent steel tariff measures.
Currently, five countries, including Canada and Mexico, plus the EU, received a temporary exemption from the U.S. import duties on steel and aluminum that went into effect last week.
In exchange, the U.S. will introduce a steel import ceiling.
South Korea's quota will be set at 2-point-6-8 million tons of steel exports a year, or 70% of its average annual shipments to the U.S. between 2015 to 2017.
Seoul has also agreed to lift some its safety and environmental regulations, and allow U.S. automakers to ship Korea up to 50-thousand vehicles each, up from 25-thousand previously.
Tariffs imposed on Korean pickup trucks exported to the U.S will be extended by 20 years to 2041.
South Korea on the other hand, secured revisions to the investor-state dispute settlement clause and other areas it has demanded since start of the trade talks.
We defended the red line. There is no further opening of agricultural markets or mandatory use of U.S. auto parts.
In addition, the two sides agreed to improve the transparency of the trade dispute settlement process, which covers issue like anti-dumping duties.
The tentative agreement comes less than three months since the first round of trade talks began.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also described the agreement as an absolute win-win in an interview with Fox News Sunday, local time.
South Korea's trade ministry said working-level officials are ironing out the details so that Seoul and Washington can finalize their amendments to the six-year-old trade deal soon.
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.