ISDS Case Map
US
Korea and the United States will start formal negotiations on a bilateral free trade accord in Washington on June 5. Flying to the US capital for the occasion are not only government delegates but also a contingent of about 100 demonstrators. Having heard much about Korean protesters' militancy, local police have reportedly entered a state of emergency.
Films from South Korea may not be as prominently featured in the program of the 59th Cannes Film Festival as in recent years, yet Korean cinema is garnering attention, thanks to the struggle by industry people to defend the screen quota system.
The United States has no immediate plans to negotiate a free trade pact with Taiwan, but is eager to discuss other ways to expand economic ties, a top US trade official told reporters on Monday.
The Bush administration expressed optimism Monday that a recently completed trade agreement with Vietnam can be signed by early June and supporting legislation can win congressional approval this summer.
Korean activists will go ahead with their planned rallies in Washington to protest negotiations for a free trade agreement, ignoring the government's appeal for restraint.
The United States is "very optimistic" about clinching free trade agreements (FTAs) with major trading partners South Korea and Malaysia, a senior US official said.
The South Korean government on Friday urged a group of some 100 Koreans to refrain from staging a protest in Washington against the first round of negotiations for a free trade agreement with the US, to be held there on June 5-9.
When a Colombian top-level delegation travelled to Washington last week to supposedly resolve the contradictions between the Spanish and English versions of the FTA, they instead agreed to import aged US hens to Colombia. US poultry farmers regard those hens as waste, since they are sterile.
The United States Trade Representative Office (USTR) said a trade and investment framework agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) would be concluded soon.
Finance Minister Diego Borja said that the US decision to break off free trade talks with Ecuador after the government canceled Occidental Petroleum Corp's (OXY) contracts was unacceptable political interference.
