Fifth Round in U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement Talks Start
Apparel and textile groups are hoping that the next U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement negotiations will iron out a few disagreements between the two countries.
The fifth round of negotiations will take place Dec. 4–8 in Big Sky, Mont., after Sen. Max Baucus proposed the site to U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab.
The United States and South Korea have differed on several issues, from agricultural items to tariff reductions. U.S. beef exports to South Korea have been particularly sensitive. No U.S. beef has been exported to the Asian country since 1993 because of fears over mad cow disease.
But South Korea is a major textile exporter to the United States, and a free trade agreement would eliminate expensive tariffs. In the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2006, South Korea exported $1.75 billion in textiles to the United States, with apparel making up $1 billion of that total.
A trade accord between the two nations is backed by the American Apparel & Footwear Association, the United States Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel and the Korea Federation of Textile Industries. “The objective of the [free trade agreement] should be to provide increased market access for the textile and apparel products of both countries. We strongly believe that U.S. textile exports to Korea will grow through the [trade agreement] and that especially high value-added and industrial textile manufacturers will experience rapid growth in the Korean market,” said Kevin Burke, president and chief executive of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, based in Arlington, Va.
The trade talks were launched in June but will not be concluded by the end of the year. The upcoming trade talks prompted nearly 10,000 South Korean workers opposed to the accord to stage nationwide rallies and partial strikes on Nov. 22. In particular, farm workers are opposed to the measure for fear it will reduce agricultural protections. The plan has been opposed by that country’s labor, agriculture and social groups, as well as the film industry.
A sixth round of talks is tentatively scheduled for mid-January. —Deborah Belgum
