Senior negotiators from South Korea and the United States have entered the final full day of free trade talks on Friday, in quest to resolve the remaining hindrance for an agreement before a weekend deadline. As the deadline increasingly becoming visible for the potentially historic free-trade talks between the US and South Korea, the biggest impediment are turning out to involve the same thing as in most trade negotiations, food.
In the meanwhile, a South Korean news agency reported that the US and South Korean officials say that they are certain to reach a free-trade agreement by Friday’s deadline. Optimism for a final deal grew stronger after the presidents of the two countries, Roh Moo Hyun and George Bush, confirmed their support for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in a telephone conversation on Thursday.
In an official statement, South Korea has said, ‘the two heads of state discussed the final obstacles to a pact, including in the areas of agriculture, cars and textiles. Other unresolved issues included the Korean pharmaceuticals market and US anti-dumping regulations’.
Both the countries have been negotiating the ambitious free trade agreement for almost 10 months. Both sides have stated that they want a ‘win-win’ deal to cut tariffs and other trade barriers to encourage both countries’ economic growth. However, Korean opponents claim that an influx of cheaper U.S. goods will damage livelihoods and hope the talks would breakdown.
Negotiators are aware of the fact that in case of failure to meet the deadline could mean talks dragging on for years, only if the White House could persuade a reluctant, Democrat-controlled Congress to extend the authority.
