Experts' take on revised Free Trade Agreement between South Korea and U.S.
Arirang News
2018-09-28
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전문가들이 바라보는 한•미FTA 개정
South Korea and the U.S. signed the revised bilateral Free Trade Agreement earlier this week in New York.
So how will the latest move impact the local economy?
Our Ko Roon-hee turned to some experts for their take on the matter.
After months of deliberation, South Korea and the U.S. officially signed their revised free trade agreement earlier this week in New York.
Under the revised deal, the U.S. is to continue levying 25-percent tariffs on imports of Korean pickup trucks for another 20 years until 2041.
The agreement also stipulates that 50-thousand U.S. auto imports per year can be shipped into Korea without meeting Korea's safety standards.
South Korea will also consider simplifying the sales environment for U.S. automobiles shipped from 2021 to 2025... by taking into account U.S. emissions standards.
"The U.S. auto industry is a highly protected industry... and letting them continue levying 25-percent tariffs... it's only promoting the country's trade protectionism... which is against the spirit of free trade agreements."
Another key revision is related to changes in the investor-state dispute settlement system.
This is a system that allows those investing in a foreign country to sue the country for alleged discriminatory practices.
The changes will prevent the overuse of lawsuits and possibly protect the South Korean government's right to implement fair policies.
This comes after some investors abused the system in the past in order to get state compensation as seen in the case of American private equity fund Lone Star.
An expert at the Korea International Trade Association welcomed the successful conclusion of negotiations... because the deal did not bring changes to the agricultural industry.
"From the start, Korea has said the country's agricultural sector is off-limits. Luckily, it seems like South Korea has successfully persuaded the U.S. Otherwise, the negotiation process between the two countries would have taken longer."
"Korea's trade ministry says it plans to get the revised FTA deal ratified by the National Assembly as soon as possible, but the process may take longer than expected as the government has not specified a timeline."
Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.
South Korea and the U.S. signed the revised bilateral Free Trade Agreement earlier this week in New York.
So how will the latest move impact the local economy?
Our Ko Roon-hee turned to some experts for their take on the matter.
After months of deliberation, South Korea and the U.S. officially signed their revised free trade agreement earlier this week in New York.
Under the revised deal, the U.S. is to continue levying 25-percent tariffs on imports of Korean pickup trucks for another 20 years until 2041.
The agreement also stipulates that 50-thousand U.S. auto imports per year can be shipped into Korea without meeting Korea's safety standards.
South Korea will also consider simplifying the sales environment for U.S. automobiles shipped from 2021 to 2025... by taking into account U.S. emissions standards.
"The U.S. auto industry is a highly protected industry... and letting them continue levying 25-percent tariffs... it's only promoting the country's trade protectionism... which is against the spirit of free trade agreements."
Another key revision is related to changes in the investor-state dispute settlement system.
This is a system that allows those investing in a foreign country to sue the country for alleged discriminatory practices.
The changes will prevent the overuse of lawsuits and possibly protect the South Korean government's right to implement fair policies.
This comes after some investors abused the system in the past in order to get state compensation as seen in the case of American private equity fund Lone Star.
An expert at the Korea International Trade Association welcomed the successful conclusion of negotiations... because the deal did not bring changes to the agricultural industry.
"From the start, Korea has said the country's agricultural sector is off-limits. Luckily, it seems like South Korea has successfully persuaded the U.S. Otherwise, the negotiation process between the two countries would have taken longer."
"Korea's trade ministry says it plans to get the revised FTA deal ratified by the National Assembly as soon as possible, but the process may take longer than expected as the government has not specified a timeline."
Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.
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