ISDS Case Map
Korea
The free trade agreement the United States signed with South Korea last week could be the most important step in the nation's trade policy since the North American Free Trade Agreement. It could symbolize a shift away from global trade negotiations, which were supposed to help poor countries grow, to the bilateral option, the only game in town right now.
On April 6, a special committee of the National Assembly set up to monitor the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA), waged fierce debate over their evaluation of the deal as well as any needed countermeasures.
The US-South Korea free trade deal could encourage further liberalization and create an environment conducive to a proposed trans-Pacific free trade area linking Asia and the Americas, officials and analysts say.
The South Korean government pledged to ease quarantine rules on products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) under a free trade agreement with the United States struck on April 2. But while negotiations were underway on the deal, the government denied it was discussing the topic.
Thousands of South Korean workers took to the streets of the capital Saturday, demanding that a just-concluded free trade agreement between their country and the United States be scrapped.
Internet firms providing music, videos and other multimedia files are watching out for the government interpretation on the free trade agreement, as its draft contains much tougher anti-piracy measures on digital content than current regulations.
Concerns and worries are arising about overlooked clauses of the free trade agreement as the initial elation on the successful settlement wanes over time.
Several anti-FTA rallies are to take place in central Seoul this weekend, and clashes between protesters and police, and traffic jams are expected.
Automakers yesterday said they were hopeful a free trade agreement between South Korea and the US will prove a boon to their industry, but added they were taking a cautious approach until the deal gets final approval.
As official talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the U.S. have been completed, attention is focused on possible trade negotiations between Korea and other nations, such as the European Union and China.
