So who thinks anti-Australian FTA protests will sweep the country if a FTA between Australia and Korea is ratified?:
South Korea and Australia agreed Monday to open “preparatory talks” on a free trade agreement to further boost bilateral ties.
The agreement came in a summit between President Lee Myung-bak and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who arrived in Seoul Sunday for a two-day visit.
Both leaders welcomed the results of a joint study on a Korea-Australia deal that said an agreement will be beneficial for mutual economic growth and trade expansion, the presidential office in Seoul said.
“The two leaders agreed that preparatory talks on a bilateral FTA will be held in the near future,” it said. [Korea Times]
The facts of the matter is that there will be no protests because there is no anti-Australia undertone in Korea for political demagogues to exploit like they did with the US beef issue that opened the way to a US-Korea FTA that may have now been shot down due to the protests.
What I am wondering is if Australia will import kangaroo meat under the FTA? For those who have never tried kangaroo you don’t know what you are missing out on.
Popularity: 2%
3:17 pm on August 12th, 2008 1
Kangaroo meat is not bad. You just have to prepare it right or else it’ll taste gamey.
10:34 pm on August 12th, 2008 2
What I am wondering is if Australia will import kangaroo meat under the FTA?
??? You lost me there!
3:10 am on August 13th, 2008 3
Will the Aussies attempt to export rice to Korea? — No problem
Will the Aussies attempt to export autos to Korea? — No problem
Will the Aussies attempt to export chips/electronics/Plasma Displays to Korea? — No problem
Will the Aussies try to open the pharmaceutical markets? — No problem
Will the Aussies try to enter the banking/financial markets? — No problem
It would seem to me that there won’t be protests because the Aussies are not posing any real threat to the Korean closed markets.
7:41 am on August 13th, 2008 4
Kalani the Aussie actually do produce a lot of rice, will they attempt to export to Korea? Who knows since talks have not begun yet. The Aussies also produce lots of cars, mostly Fords & Holdens but just like any other nation that produces cars they will have a hard time trying to sell them in Korea. The Aussies also have a lot of expertise in banking and finance and may be interested in entering the Korean market.
It will be interesting to see what they pursue wants the talks begin but appears the Koreans will want to keep the FTA focused on the mineral riches Australia has that they can provide for Korea.
Chopsticks, yes the kangaroo meat is quite good if you know how to marinate it before grilling it.
7:41 am on August 13th, 2008 5
I think Kalani makes valid points, but I am again in line with GI Korea on this.
Australia might not be trying to open export markets in those areas, but it also doesn’t have a a 50 plus year history inside Korea with loads of combat troops and an even longer history - as Koreans see it - of interfering in Korea —— in a negative way.
I mentioned the former Unification Minister’s “silent hand” comment the other day, but that is a feeling I’ve heard echoed by Korean adults and heard reference to plenty of times before in Korea.
Protectionism against competition is part of what drives protests against US economic deals - but — you can’t discount the sheer anti-US habit that has been put on display so often in the past?
Also on trade issues:
Australia isn’t going to look to open agricultural markets besides rice?
Which brings up some other examples:
What about Garlic and other agro-fishery products from China
or apples, grapes, and agricultural products from Chile?
In both of those case, we did see a significant amount of activity from labor and farmer’s groups against the trade deals on those items. We also saw some brief media cheerleading of those protests…
….but they were not on the same size and scope as the beef protests - by far - nor did they keep the same level of residual resentiment as the beef deal with the US likely will — or something like the IMF bailout - which is a whole other story.
You can’t pass around something as significant as anti-US sentiment and try to compartmentalize issues with Korean society. I think that has been recognized as one of Korean society’s habits that make it different from nations in Western Europe — were issues with the US government over trade are pretty much about trade and issues about the war in Iraq are about that — you don’t see the same kind of generalized blending - at least not to the same level as in Korean society - and you don’t see the same small group of civic group leaders leading absolutely every charge - regardless of how divergent the current cause celeb —- and see the general society deciding every now and then they will join in on protests — regardless of the merits of the case.
—whether it is a couple dozen gallons of fromaldhyde or the non-risk of mad cow disease from American beef imports…