KORUS concluded, not yet ratified
Negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement between South Korea and the United States were concluded yesterday. It is hailed by supporters as the biggest deal since the EU and NAFTA. Actually many of the sticky points, such as agriculture, will not come into effect until 15 years later (Seoul will phase out its 40 percent tariff on US beef over 15 years, while tariffs on pork will go over 10 years). Rice is also not included in the KORUS, most likely a trade-off as the Koreans said they agreed to start importing US beef again, under a number of conditions.
In the US, the Democrats are unhappy, led by members of Congress from states that depend on farming and car manufacturing – two sectors that lost out in the negotiations, according to Financial Times.
I was in Seoul last November when about 70,000 protesters marched against the negotiations. I'm surprised that President Roh Moo-hyun got the support for this deal. But anyway, details of the results of the negotiations have not yet been made public, and ratification is not certain. For people in South Korea who want American and US-made Japanese cars, more beef and generally closer ties with the world, the KORUS is the way to go. For others, especially farmers, the deal is a disaster.
Consumers will save 7 percent in spendings, according to data mentioned by Korea Times:
The government said yesterday that the Korea-U.S. free trade accord (FTA) will cover more than 90 percent of imported items. The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy insists that the increase in the consumer savings will amount to $28 billion over the next 10 years, or 7 percent of their total spending. That means consumers can get 7 percent more goods and services with the same money they spend now.
IHT notes that the deal entails heavy political costs for South Korea, which can expect to see tens of thousands of farmers lose their jobs, but the South Korean government is desperate to reverse a decline in the country's competitiveness as Japan outspends it in R&D - and China offers an increasing variety of goods produced with low-cost labor.
In the US, the Democrats are unhappy, led by members of Congress from states that depend on farming and car manufacturing – two sectors that lost out in the negotiations, according to Financial Times.
I was in Seoul last November when about 70,000 protesters marched against the negotiations. I'm surprised that President Roh Moo-hyun got the support for this deal. But anyway, details of the results of the negotiations have not yet been made public, and ratification is not certain. For people in South Korea who want American and US-made Japanese cars, more beef and generally closer ties with the world, the KORUS is the way to go. For others, especially farmers, the deal is a disaster.
Consumers will save 7 percent in spendings, according to data mentioned by Korea Times:
The government said yesterday that the Korea-U.S. free trade accord (FTA) will cover more than 90 percent of imported items. The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy insists that the increase in the consumer savings will amount to $28 billion over the next 10 years, or 7 percent of their total spending. That means consumers can get 7 percent more goods and services with the same money they spend now.
IHT notes that the deal entails heavy political costs for South Korea, which can expect to see tens of thousands of farmers lose their jobs, but the South Korean government is desperate to reverse a decline in the country's competitiveness as Japan outspends it in R&D - and China offers an increasing variety of goods produced with low-cost labor.
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