Clinton calls for renegotiation of Korea FTA on auto, beef

By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton has proposed renegotiation of the free trade deal with South Korea, citing an imbalance in auto trade and restrictions in beef shipments.

"If the South Koreans are willing to re-engage negotiations on these vital
provisions of the agreement, we will work with them to get to resolution,"
Clinton said in written answers submitted to the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee Tuesday as part of her high-profile confirmation hearing.
Clinton was echoing President-elect Barack Obama's opposition to the free trade
agreement with South Korea, still awaiting congressional approval after it was
signed in June 2007.
House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel also
called for renegotiation of the Korea FTA on the auto issue Wednesday, according
to Reuters.
"If they fought as hard for cars as they did for beef, we wouldn't have that
problem," he told reporters.
Rangel was talking about U.S. pressure on South Korea that led to resumption of
U.S. beef shipments last year after a suspension in 2003 due to a mad cow disease
case in the U.S.
Obama, who once called the Korea FTA "badly flawed," has specifically talked
about an imbalance in auto trade, noting that South Korea exports more than
700,000 autos to the U.S. annually while importing just 6,000.
South Korea contests such statistics, saying the figures include 250,000 units
made at an Alabama plant by South Korea's largest automaker, Hyundai, and exclude
more than 125,000 automobiles sold in South Korea by GM Daewoo, a Korean
subsidiary of GM.
Beef imports are another issue, as South Korea banned shipments from cattle more
than 30 months old amid weeks of street rallies in Seoul early last year due to
concerns over mad cow disease.
Despite the partial ban on beef from older cattle, U.S. beef secured the biggest
market share in South Korea late last year, when Seoul resumed U.S. beef imports.
The ban stemmed from cases of mad cow disease in the U.S. in 2003.
Clinton called on South Korea to provide "genuine improvements" in the auto
industry and other market sectors.
Under the deal, she said, "The United States would lose its remaining leverage to
counteract these non-tariff barriers. The result will be a competitive handicap
for one of our most important industries."
Neither parliament has ratified the free trade deal, with the Democrat-controlled
Congress bowing to major trade unions.
U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab Tuesday urged Congress to approve the
deal, saying it will boost the U.S. GDP by US$10 billion to $12 billion annually,
helping the U.S. economy recover from the current economic recession.
On North Korea, the former first lady said "no decision has been made" on whether
to appoint a special envoy to the six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear
ambitions. Also uncertain is the establishment of liaison offices in the
respective capitals.
Clinton told the confirmation hearing Tuesday that she would engage North Korea
directly as well as by way of the six-party talks to address its alleged
uranium-based nuclear program and suspected nuclear proliferation.
She apparently endorsed Obama's campaign pledge to meet with North Korean leader
Kim Jong-il and any other leaders without preconditions, saying, "Smart power
requires reaching out to both friends and adversaries, to bolster old alliances
and to forge new ones."