November 20th, 2012 at 3:32 am » Comments (0)

This would be an incredible free trade zone if some deal was worked out: South Korea, China and Japan are set to officially declare the launch of negotiations for a “the three-country free trade agreement” on Nov. 20. Choi Kyung-lim, the chief South Korean negotiator said on Nov. 18, “The final confirmation will be made after tomorrow’s report to the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee of the National Assembly, but our plan for now is to officially declare the launch of negotiations on Nov. 20.”The launch of negotiations is
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July 4th, 2012 at 1:00 pm » Comments (0)

January 10th, 2012 at 3:14 am » Comments (5)

Any bets if we will see any massive anti-China FTA protests in Korea with this news?: President Lee Myung-bak agreed to begin the necessary “domestic procedures” for opening formal negotiations on a South Korea-China free trade agreement during a summit meeting Monday afternoon with Chinese president Hu Jintao at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. Lee and Hu expressed interest in working out a South Korea-China FTA “so that the trend of economic partnership is further strengthened,” the Cheong Wa Dae (South Korea’s presidential office or Blue House) reported. The
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November 23rd, 2011 at 12:56 pm » Comments (12)

November 11th, 2011 at 7:55 am » Comments (6)

Does anyone doubt that this is what is behind the US-ROK FTA protests? Kim Hyun-jong, the ex-trade minister who led the FTA negotiations with the U.S. under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, said in a lecture, “Those who oppose to the FTA with the U.S. should seriously consider whether they have a problem with the FTA itself or with the partnership with the U.S. Korea opens up more under the FTA with the EU, but protests intensify only when it comes to the Korea-U.S. FTA.”  [Chosun Ilbo]

October 19th, 2011 at 10:37 am » Comments (6)

These actions taken by the Korean left is not surprising: All hopes for a smooth ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement were abandoned yesterday when its opponents occupied a committee room at the National Assembly to prevent deliberations on the bill and a vote. The ruling Grand National Party planned to open deliberations on the free trade agreement bill in the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee in the afternoon. GNP Representative Yoo Ki-june told Yonhap News Agency that the ruling party would attempt to approve it in committee
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August 4th, 2011 at 5:35 pm » Comments (2)

It will be interesting to see if the KORUS FTA does pass next month: The government has welcomed the news that Washington laid a path to deal with the overdue ratification of the free trade deal with South Korea in September. The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said Thursday that although the U.S.’s plan does not meet the South Korean government’s expectation to have the bill passed before the August recess, Seoul hopes the deal will pass when the U.S. Congress reconvenes in September. Senate Democratic
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December 4th, 2010 at 2:54 am » Comments (42)

For everyone that is a fan of Korean cars they are about to get cheaper for those of you living in the US in five years: The U.S. and South Korea have reached an agreement on America’s largest trade pact in more than a decade, a highly coveted deal the Obama administration hopes will boost U.S. exports and create tens of thousands of jobs at home. After a week of marathon negotiations, representatives from both countries broke through a stalemate Friday morning on outstanding issues related to the automobile industry,
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February 13th, 2010 at 7:14 am » Comments (4)

Does anyone have any bets on when this FTA will ever be done?: The U.S. government has been reviewing concerns expressed by America’s auto industry in relation to the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement and is drawing up a related proposal, the Federation of Korean Industries said in a release yesterday. The move is an apparent sign that the U.S. government is likely to pursue further negotiation with Korea over auto trade issues, observers said. During the 22nd Korea-U.S. Business Council meeting in Los Angeles, California, last week, Wendy Cutler, the
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October 19th, 2009 at 2:41 am » Comments (13)

It will be interesting to see if this FTA does put any pressure on the President to get a deal done with the South Koreans or not?  I doubt it: President Barack Obama faced increased pressure on Thursday to win approval of a free trade deal with South Korea after the European Union locked up its own pact with Asia’s third-largest market.”We have concluded our negotiations with the EU, which has almost a similar economic size as the United States,” South Korean Ambassador to the United States Han Duk-soo said.
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