SEOUL, March 26 (UPI) -- With mounting protests Monday, South Korea and the United States launched their final round of free-trade negotiations, which can determine the fate of the proposed deal aimed at tearing down trade barriers between the two countries.
High-level negotiators from the two countries used the first day of the crucial talks to test each other's response over thorny issues such as agriculture, automobiles, textiles and pharmaceuticals.
"It's not easy to bridge differences," South Korea's top negotiator for free-trade talks with the United States, Ambassador Kim Jong-hoon, told reporters at the end of the first day of talks. "We'll try to balance the interests of both sides, but the prospects are not clear for now." Kim has served as the chief negotiator since the two countries started free-trade talks in July last year.
This week's closed-door talks are led by higher level officials, Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong and U.S. Deputy Trade Representative Karan K. Bhatia, in order to conclude negotiations by the end of this month to meet the July 1 deadline of the Bush administration's trade promotion authority. The two governments need to end an agreement by March 31, three months before U.S. President George W. Bush's power to sign trade deals without being subject to congressional amendment expires on July 1.
But South Korea said it would never hastily sign a free-trade agreement with the United States just to meet the March 31 deadline, saying it is ready to scrap negotiations.
South Korean negotiators have "placed the top priority on maximizing national interests in the FTA talks (with the United States)," Kim said. "We will take a resolute stand even though negotiations may collapse if the proposed deal falls short of our expectations or (Washington) demands what we cannot accept, such as rice market opening," he said, stressing that rice, the country's staple food, is a deal-breaker.
During this week's talks, the two sides aim to make a "package deal" on those outstanding issues, which both sides said include automobiles, agricultural products, anti-dumping remedies and pharmaceuticals. This final round of talks will continue until negotiations are settled, officials said.
Just ahead of the opening of the talks, Bhatia voiced optimism for a successful and timely conclusion. "We had meetings pretty much non-stop since this morning. I think it's fair to say both sides are really working hard," Bhatia told reporters.
Agriculture is a major obstacle at the free-trade talks, as the stakes are high for both sides. South Korea, one of the largest markets for U.S. farm products, is struggling to phase out tariffs over 10 years on other sensitive food products while Washington calls for immediate action. In particular, South Korea has vowed to exclude rice from the trade deal. "If the United States puts rice on the bargaining table, FTA talks will probably be doomed," Kim said.
The warning comes after U.S. officials last week said they will officially raise the rice issue at this week's talks. In an immediate response, South Korean negotiators said they would consider any mention of rice "a deal-breaker."
The make-or-break final round of talks comes amid growing protests in Seoul by farmers, laborers, students and other anti-FTA activists. Protesters gathered in front of a Seoul hotel where the talks are taking place, chanting slogans such as, "Stop the secret FTA bargaining" and "No to FTA!"
On Sunday some 10,000 protesters took to the streets in downtown Seoul to voice their opposition. Some of them clashed with riot police deployed to keep protesters away from the U.S. Embassy.
Former Justice Minister Chun Jung-bae, a member of the ruling Uri Party and a presidential hopeful, began an indefinite hunger strike Monday, saying a free-trade deal with the United States would damage the South Korean economy. "I feel we have nothing to gain but everything to lose," the lawmaker said in a statement issued ahead of staging the protest.
Moon Sung-hyun, head of the progressive Democratic Labor Party, entered the 19th day of his hunger strike Monday to oppose the talks. "We urge the government not to make a sacrifice of the screen quota for an FTA deal," he said.
Kim Geun-tae, former health minister and a presidential hopeful from the ruling party, is also considering joining the hunger strike to protest the proposed free-trade deal with the United States.
