US and South Korea Try to Finish International Trade Talks amid Protests

The United States and South Korea are trying to complete their free trade agreement (FTA) talks amidst protests, particularly from South Korean farmers. It must be noted that the two countries are aiming to reach an international trade deal before the deadline, which is the expiration of the trade promotion authority of President George W. Bush. Although the TPA is due to end in July this year, the two parties should come up with an international trade pact 90 days before the expiration. This would give the US Congress the time needed in order to review the proposed US-South Korea FTA. Trade officials from both sides recently held a meeting at a hotel in Seoul for eight straight days in an attempt to iron out remaining issues in the negotiations.
After failing to reach a consensus last week, trade officials from both sides agreed to extend their negotiations in order to come up with an international trade deal. But as negotiators were busy discussing the proposed FTA inside the hotel, a crowd of protesters gathered outside in an attempt to stop the trade talks. In fact, a man even set himself on fire while shouting "Stop the Korea-US FTA." According to reports, around 150 people, including farmers and students gathered near the venue to protest against the proposed FTA. Many South Koreans opposed the proposed deal due to fears that it may seriously affect their country's farm industry. Under the proposed FTA, the US wants to gain a greater access into South Korea's agricultural market.
Deputy US Trade Representative Karan Bhatia and South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyung-chong have been meeting for several days in an attempt to resolve differences between their countries over key areas of the FTA. On Friday last week, Washington said that the negotiations between the US and South Korea were "not going well." Some of the major issues affecting the progress of the international trade talks are automobile, textiles, and beef. Technically, beef does not form part of the free trade agreement. But the rejection of beef shipments from the US has still affected the negotiations. Although South Korea lifted its ban on US beef imports, it rejected initial beef shipments from the US due to their failure to comply with health and safety standards.
The proposed FTA has been aimed at boosting international trade between the US and South Korea. In fact, the free trade agreement is expected to improve bilateral trade between the two countries up to $20 billion. If the international trade deal materialized, it would be the biggest FTA to be signed by the US since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993.