Opposition DP opposes ratification of FTA with US
By Lee Tae-hoon
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) voiced strong opposition Tuesday to the government’s move to revise the text of a free trade agreement signed between Korea and the United States in 2007 to ease environmental standards for American-made automobiles.
“The DP is completely against the ratification of the Korea-U.S. FTA,” Park Jie-won, floor leader of the liberal party said, in a meeting with lawmakers at the National Assembly.
Park said his party won’t support the parliamentary approval of the bilateral trade deal, which has been at an impasse since July 2007, as the government has accepted one-sided changes made in favor of U.S. companies.
Seoul is reportedly mulling whether to accept Washington’s demand to ease standards on fuel economy and gas emissions for American automobiles, and may scrap or limit “duty drawbacks,” which would put Korean automakers at a disadvantage.
Drawbacks allow refunds for tariffs levied on imported parts used by auto manufacturers.
“What the public and the DP feared is becoming reality,” the legislator said.
Cha Young, a spokeswoman of the DP, warned the Lee Myung-bak administration for its “hasty conclusion” of FTA negotiations, saying it will trigger a strong public resistance.
“I’m sure the government still clearly remembers how strong the public was against the hasty beef deal with the U.S. in 2008,” she warned, saying the Lee administration should not make the same mistake again with a bilateral deal with the U.S.
Hundreds of thousands of citizens took the streets across the nation in protest of the resumption of beef imports from the United States on fears of mad cow disease.
Amid mounting public criticism, President Lee had to apologize to the nation in May 2008 for causing a public uproar with his decision to unconditionally lift a ban on U.S. beef imports.
