South Korea, U.S. start second round of FTA talks
- 6 years ago
Ding, ding... round two.
South Korea and the U.S. have started their second round of talks to revise their free trade agreement.
The meeting, which kicked off around three hours ago in Seoul,.... comes amid rising tensions between the two countries over Washington's safeguard measures on South Korean washers and solar panels.
Kim Hyesung has the details.
A second round of talks to revise the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement.
Negotiators from South Korea and the U.S.,... represented by Yoo Myung-hee, director general for South Korea's trade ministry's trade policy bureau and her U.S. counterpart, Assistant Trade Representative Michael Beeman, kicked off their two-day meeting in Seoul.
Before entering the talks, Yoo said she will focus on maximizing Korea's national interest and that the two sides will discuss details on topics raised during their first round of talks in Washington.
During the initial meeting in early January, Seoul raised issues with the investor-state dispute settlement cause and ways to protect its agricultural industry,... while the U.S. presented proposals to improve its auto exports and lift trade barriers.
As of 2017, Korea's trade surplus with the U.S. was about 18 billion dollars, with car exports accounting for over 70 percent of the surplus.
At the same time, South Korea is expected to raise the issue of Washington's safeguard measures.
A week ago, the Trump Administration imposed tariffs on foreign residential washing machines and solar cells, including those from South Korea, saying they hurt U.S. local industry.
The safeguard measure, which was imposed for the first time against Korea in 16 years, would lead to tariffs of up to 50 percent on imported washing machines and a 30 percent tariff will be applied on imported solar panels after the first 2.5 gigawatts in the first year.
Calling the move excessive, South Korea has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization.
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.
South Korea and the U.S. have started their second round of talks to revise their free trade agreement.
The meeting, which kicked off around three hours ago in Seoul,.... comes amid rising tensions between the two countries over Washington's safeguard measures on South Korean washers and solar panels.
Kim Hyesung has the details.
A second round of talks to revise the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement.
Negotiators from South Korea and the U.S.,... represented by Yoo Myung-hee, director general for South Korea's trade ministry's trade policy bureau and her U.S. counterpart, Assistant Trade Representative Michael Beeman, kicked off their two-day meeting in Seoul.
Before entering the talks, Yoo said she will focus on maximizing Korea's national interest and that the two sides will discuss details on topics raised during their first round of talks in Washington.
During the initial meeting in early January, Seoul raised issues with the investor-state dispute settlement cause and ways to protect its agricultural industry,... while the U.S. presented proposals to improve its auto exports and lift trade barriers.
As of 2017, Korea's trade surplus with the U.S. was about 18 billion dollars, with car exports accounting for over 70 percent of the surplus.
At the same time, South Korea is expected to raise the issue of Washington's safeguard measures.
A week ago, the Trump Administration imposed tariffs on foreign residential washing machines and solar cells, including those from South Korea, saying they hurt U.S. local industry.
The safeguard measure, which was imposed for the first time against Korea in 16 years, would lead to tariffs of up to 50 percent on imported washing machines and a 30 percent tariff will be applied on imported solar panels after the first 2.5 gigawatts in the first year.
Calling the move excessive, South Korea has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization.
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.