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.
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."
hdh@yna.co.kr
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