ISDS Case Map
Korea
Korea's team of negotiators for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States left for Washington on Sunday amid much concern. Depending on how the discussions go, there could be a lot of controversy and even deeper discord between interests.
Some 1,300 protesters hit the streets of central Seoul Saturday to oppose a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
A US demand for separate negotiations on the agricultural sector under a planned free trade agreement with Korea shows how contentious the issue is, the Korean government said Friday.
Negotiations for a US-South Korean free-trade agreement will begin on Monday, with strong political support from both countries' presidents tempered by skepticism in the legislatures and cautious public support.
Despite ups and downs in the negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the United States, the two countries are likely to reach a final agreement in two to three years, according to a report by the Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI) Wednesday.
"I felt like I was negotiating with US interest groups, not with the US government," says Alicia Frohmann, one of Chile's chief negotiators on the US-Chile FTA, to Korean negotiators.
The launching of the negotiations comes with a high degree of political risk for both South Korea and the United States. It comes as the US-South Korean alliance, while remaining very strong, has showed signs of fraying.
South Korean activists have pledged to hold peaceful protests against a proposed South Korea-US free trade agreement (FTA) in Washington early next month. "We want to explain to American citizens why we oppose the FTA with the US."
Beijing wants an FTA with Korea to alleviate its chronic trade deficit with its neighbor. Seoul is more reserved on the issue, since it could cause a surge in cheap agricultural produce and light industry goods.
Negotiations for a free trade pact between South Korea and Japan have been deadlocked for more than a year partly due to differences over how the two sides view their history, South Korea's commerce minister said on Friday.
