Saturday, December 13, 2003
S Korea, Japan to begin negotiation on FTA in Dec
Associated Press Seoul, December 13
South Korea said on Saturday it will begin negotiations this month with Japan on a free-trade pact between the Asian economic powerhouses.
The talks will open December 22 in Seoul, the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry said in a news release.
The two major trading partners agreed in 1998 to push the trade pact.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi agreed in October to conclude the trade accord by the end of 2005, saying it would bolster bilateral trade and investment.
Last year, South Korea exported $16.4 billion worth of goods to Japan, its third-largest market. Japan shipped $30.3 billion worth of goods South Korea, which is Japan's third-largest export market.
South Korea expects the agreement to benefit its textile, agricultural and petrochemical industries, but fear it may negatively affect its electronic and auto industries.
South Korea signed a free-trade agreement with Chile -- its first -- in February. But the pact has not yet won parliamentary approval amid political bickering with the National Assembly and protests by Korean farmers, who fear it would flood the local market with cheap imports and threaten their livelihood.
Japan, which has only signed one free-trade agreement with Singapore, is negotiating several others.
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2003.