Date: 9 February 2011
Source: www.bilaterals.org
Link: http://www.bilaterals.org/spip.php?article19009
The government and the ruling party on Wednesday discussed ways
to press for parliamentary ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement
(KORUS FTA).
During the meeting, Kim Moo-sung, floor leader of the Grand
National Party (GNP), vowed not to ram through a ratification motion through
the legislature while Cabinet ministers called for an early ratification.
"The GNP will never railroad the KORUS FTA through
parliament," Kim said. "We will address it in a decent but timely
manner."
In December, the two countries came to a final consensus on the
KORUS FTA after revising terms on issues such as auto tariffs and pork, paving
the way for the parliamentary ratification of a pact that was originally signed
about four years ago.
Emphasizing the importance of the accord for the national
economic development, Kim asked for doubled government efforts to draw support
from opposition parties and the public.
Nam Kyung-pil, a GNP lawmaker who chairs the parliamentary
committee on foreign affairs, trade and inter-Korean unification, said Israel
and Turkey showed their strong hope for signing the FTA with South Korea when
he visited the Middle Eastern countries last week.
"The biggest reason was that South Korea forged FTAs with
big world economies such as the U.S. and the European Union (EU)," he
said.
In response, Rim Che-min, chief of staff to Prime Minister Kim
Hwang-sik, said the government will do its best to form a social consensus on
the importance of the KORUS FTA and get an early ratification of the deal.
Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said the U.S. and the EU are both
moving to complete domestic procedures to effectuate FTAs with South Korea.
"We should not delay. It is our duty to make sure the
agreements benefit the national economy and companies," he stressed.
Keywords: FTA / Korea / EU / US
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