SEOUL - South Korea
has virtually retracted its demand that the US
change its anti-dumping laws, clearing a major
obstacle to a proposed free trade agreement
between the countries, South Korean media reported
on Thursday.
Citing a classified
government report, the liberal newspaper Hankyoreh
and Pressian, an Internet newspaper, reported that
the Seoul government had concluded that it was
impossible to win US concessions on the issue of
anti-dumping rules.
South Korea may
therefore have to soften its stance on the issue
of anti-dumping remedies and instead ask the US to
favorably consider its demand without changing
laws, the media outlets
quoted the government report
to the National Assembly as saying.
A copy
of the January 13 report, as seen by Yonhap News
Agency, suggests that South Korea will use its
softened "card" as a bargaining chip to gain
concessions in other contentious areas.
"Even if our interests are not reflected
in the issue of trade remedies, we need to push
forward the US side to use the card in other
negotiations," it says.
Kim Jong-hoon, the
chief South Korean negotiator, acknowledged the
existence of such a government report and
expressed disappointment that it was leaked to the
press. "It is regretful that the report was
leaked. That should not have happened," Kim said
at a meeting with journalists, according to a pool
report.
However, Kim reiterated that he
would keep pushing the US to change its "trade
remedy" laws, saying he had his own strategy to
resolve the issue. Kim confirmed that a new round
of talks, the seventh since last June, would be
held in February in the US, but said he did not
expect that the negotiations would be wrapped up
by that time.
"That won't happen during
the seventh round," Kim said when asked whether a
seventh round would be the last to conclude the
deal. "But we don't discuss an eighth round yet."
Changing US anti-dumping rules was the
single-most important South Korean demand in the
bilateral free trade talks. South Korean officials
believe Washington has often unfairly used its
anti-dumping laws to curb semiconductors and other
high-tech South Korean shipments.
In case
the US make concessions on the issue of
anti-dumping remedies, Seoul had offered to
address key US interests in expanding its vehicle
and pharmaceutical sales to South Korea.
Apparently buoyed by the softened South
Korean move, Wendy Cutler, the chief US
negotiator, said in an Interview with Yonhap on
Wednesday that she was still optimistic about the
proposed deal, although "some key issues remain
unresolved and time is running short".
"My
mood is upbeat, and I feel we can do this," Cutler
said, citing progress made at informal backroom
negotiations between her and her South Korean
counterpart, Kim Jong-hoon.
Cutler said
she already had told Kim that it was impossible
for the US to change its laws to address the South
Korean demand on anti-dumping rules.
While
"less sensitive" issues such as a tariff phase-out
on industrial goods, competition and investment
were handled by low-level officials, the two top
negotiators took the burden of tackling what many
believed were the three most contentious issues
anti-dumping remedies, automobiles and drugs.
On Thursday, textiles were one of the
tricky issues that was handled at the committee
level. Of a total of 14 committees, 11 were
convened to tackle "less sensitive" issues,
officials said.
South Korea wants the US
to ease the so-called "yarn-forward" rule of
origin, which allows textile products with only
domestically-produced yarns to be sold in the US
market duty-free. Most South Korean textile
products use cheap Chinese yarns.
Given
the importance of textile trade with the US, South
Korea discussed the issue separately from the main
talks in Seoul. These textile talks involved
deputy cabinet-level officials from both sides.
A seventh round of free trade talks is
tentatively scheduled for February. Both sides
plan to cut by nearly half the size of their
delegations for the next round, indicating that
most "less sensitive" issues can be successfully
tackled in Seoul.
"During a seventh round,
there will likely to be no working-level meetings
in less sensitive areas," a senior South Korean
trade official said, speaking on condition of
anonymity. "Instead, negotiations will focus on
core issues such as trade remedies and
automobiles."
Time is running short for a
deal to be reached before US President George W
Bush's "fast-track" trade promotion authority
expires on July 1. Under Bush's authority, US
negotiators have until April 2 to submit a deal
for an official 90-day review by Congress for an
outright up-or-down vote without amendments. The
deal also requires ratification by South Korea's
National Assembly.
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