ISDS Case Map
Korea
When are a few sea-swept, uninhabited rocky islets more than a bunch of rocks? When they involve lucrative fisheries and emotional issues that hark back to the days of the Japanese Empire.
China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have initiated the non-government joint study on the feasibility of free trade agreement (FTA), announced Wang Mengkui, director of the Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC) here Monday.
South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said 12,644 local peach, kiwi and grape farms across the country have decided to halt operations since the FTA's ratification, indicating that the opening of the domestic market is taking a toll on the growers.
A joint study group, consisting of members from China, Japan and South Korea, issued a report recently on possible trilateral investment arrangements between the three countries, which recommended that a legal framework concerning investment among the three countries should be explored in the near future. Such an investment arrangement, if well operated, would give a fresh boost to the start of FTA negotiations.
The bilateral negotiations have made little progress as South Korea has criticized Japanese-planned liberalization of farm product imports as being far from sufficient.
Korea and ASEAN will hold the first round of official negotiations for the Korea-ASEAN FTA on February 23-25, 2005, in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Philippine Speaker Jose de Venecia has proposed to South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae Chan and Speaker of Parliament Kim Won Ki the opening of negotiations for a Philippine-Korean Economic Partnership Agreement that would lead to large-scale investments, trade, and technology transfer to the country.
A bilateral trade pact would further increase the trading volume and it will have the effect of cementing the Korea-US alliance, which is undergoing a fundamental change amid the US move to adapt its military to new security challenges such as terrorism.
Products made by South Korean companies in an industrial park north of the demilitarized zone are likely to form the latest kink in sputtering free trade talks between Tokyo and Seoul.
South Korea may conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) with India as early as 2007, a ranking South Korean official said.
