U.S. Cites Progress in South Korea Talks

In this March 9, 2006, file photo, a container ship belonging to the Hanjin Shipping Co. of South Korea, begins the process of offloading at the Port of Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) (Ted S. Warren - AP)

WASHINGTON -- U.S. trade officials said significant progress had been made during the first week of negotiations aimed at reaching a free trade agreement with South Korea, but they cautioned that difficult issues remained to be resolved.

"We have clearly hit the ground running," said Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler, who is heading the American negotiating team. "Overall, we have accomplished much more than usual for the first round of negotiations."

She said the progress made during five days of talks this week in Washington "bodes well for our ability to complete this agreement on time."

Cutler said areas where differences had been narrowed included providing protection for copyrights and patents and trade in telecommunications services. However, she would not provide details, saying the negotiations were still ongoing.

Both sides hope to wrap up negotiations by the end of this year so Congress can approve the deal before July 1, 2007, when President Bush loses his authority to negotiate trade agreements under expedited procedures that call for up-or-down votes without amendments.

Cutler, who briefed reporters following the conclusion of Friday's talks, said the next round of negotiations would be held the week of July 10 in Seoul.

She said additional negotiations were tentatively planned to take place in early September, October and early December. The South Korean negotiating team is being led by Kim Jong-hoon.

A free trade agreement with South Korea, America's seventh-largest trading partner, would be the most economically significant pact for the U.S. since it tore down barriers with Mexico and Canada more than a decade ago.

For American consumers, a free trade deal would hold out the prospect of lower U.S. tariffs and thus cheaper prices on a variety of South Korean products from cell phones to automobiles.

South Korean farmers and their U.S. supporters staged a series of demonstrations this week to protest the pact, which they believe would harm them economically by removing protections they currently have against foreign competition in such areas as rice.

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On the Net

U.S. Trade Representative: http://www.ustr.gov