Vilsack calls for deal's early ratification to increase agricultural exports [English: BYK, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/03/09/52/0301000000AEN20110309000400315F.HTML

Summary: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Tuesday called for early ratification of the pending free trade deal with South Korea, expressing hope that the deal will greatly increase shipments of U.S. agricultural products to South Korea.  "We believe a ratified U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement will expand agricultural exports by what we believe to be $1.8 billion," Vilsack told reporters on a conference call. "With ratification of the U.S.-Korean Free Trade Agreement, Korea's 40 percent tariff on U.S. beef will be eliminated over the next 15 years."  The agriculture secretary also said the deal's implementation will help boost exports of U.S. beef to South Korea, the seventh biggest trading partner for the U.S.

Foreign Ministry under fire for FTA translation errors [English: BYK]

http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110308000794

Summary: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade came under fire for mistranslation of the free trade agreement with the European Union which was signed on Oct. 6, 2010.  On Monday the ministry announced that it has agreed with the EU to correct yet more errors found in the Korean version of the agreement, less than two weeks after other mistakes were corrected.  On Feb. 25, the ministry announced that mistakes regarding the proportion of imported raw materials used in wax and toy products allowed for such products to be eligible for tax exemption under the trade pact will be changed, after the errors were singled out by trade law specialist Song Gi-ho.  The changes led to the ministry retracting the bill submitted to the National Assembly and resubmitting the corrected version.

Opposition policy institutes debate KORUS FTA (English, CSY)

The institutes discussed the possibility of renegotiation or abandonment of the FTA

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_business/466983.html

Summary: Policy institutes for four of the opposition parties made plans to develop concerted measures by progressive and reformist forces on the South Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). The Democratic Party’s Institute for Democracy and Policies, the Democratic Labor Party’s New Community Institute, the New Progressive Party’s Imagination Institute, the People’s Participation Party’s Participatory Policy Institute, and the Hankyoreh Economic Research Institute held the first in a series of policy debates among four opposition parties’ think tanks Monday in the large conference room of the National Assembly Library. The topic of the event was “The Choice of Progressive and Reformist Forces Regarding the KORUS FTA Issue.”

The National Assembly’s trade committee will review the ratification motion after the government corrects the errors

Following the discovery of discrepancies between the Korean and English texts of the South Korea-European Union Free Trade Agreement (KOREU FTA), the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee made plans Monday to review the ratification motion once again in its legislation review subcommittee after the government corrects the errors. Accordingly, modifications have become inevitable for the Lee Myung-bak government’s schedule for the motion, which they had hoped to pass through the committee Wednesday for introduction at the National Assembly’s plenary session.

Obama asks Congress to start talks on Korea FTA (English, CSY)

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2933210

2. ECONOMIC ISSUES

 

Exchange Rates of Asian Currencies Get Stronger as Local Governments Seek a Tool to Fight Rising Inflation Pressure [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/Economy/3/01/20110308/35412413/1

Summary: It is reported that exchange rates of major Asian currencies have strengthened against U.S. dollar this year as each country made a hard effort to fight the rising inflation pressure.  For example, during the last four months, the value of Australian dollar rose by 4.95 percent against U.S. dollar.

 

Table: Increase in the value of local currency against U.S. dollar during October 2010 – March 2011

Country	S. Korea	China	Singapore	Malaysia	Indonesia	Australia
Increase in value	1.84%	2.02%	3.77%	1.83%	1.56%	4.95%

 

Watchdog checking gaps in daily goods prices [English, OYS]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/03/08/0200000000AEN20110308008500320.HTML

Summary: South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Tuesday it is looking into differences in domestic and overseas prices for daily necessities to induce price cuts and help ease the country's growing inflation. "For products whose prices are higher in the domestic market, we will figure out the exact reason for such price differences and push to rectify or improve market practices if needed," Kim Dong-soo, head of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), told lawmakers.

 

Produce prices have retailers roiling (English, CSY, OYS)

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2933211

Summary: Korean consumers’ appetite for imported pork belly - which according to the Korea Swine Association makes up 48 percent of pork consumption in Korea - is growing quickly. At E-Mart, the share of imported pork belly sales recently reached 15 percent, up from less than 1 percent last year.   And although the government eliminated tariffs on an additional 50,000 tons of imported pork belly late last month, prices are still set to rise. The price of pork belly from Belgium, France and Chile, which was $4 per kilogram before last year’s foot-and-mouth outbreak, has already reached $6, with E-Mart predicting $8 in the first half of this year.

 

 

 

 

"MB Prices" Humiliated by 20% Increase in 3 Years Despite Promises of Control; Civic group analyzes government figures (English, CSY)

http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201103081152117&code=710100

Summary: The "MB Price Index," which consists of essential everyday items, has risen by at least 20% in three years. The results of an analysis of price trends by the Citizens' Coalition and Economic Justice (CCEJ), based on data from Statistics Korea and released on March 7, show that the MB Price Index rose by 20.4% from February 2008 until February 2011.  Among the index's 52 items, 10 rose in price by an average of at least 10% every year. The price of baechu (Chinese cabbage) shot up by 114.2%, while those of other items such as garlic (89.8%), onions (74.8%), pork (62.1%) and milk (31.4%) also rose by at least 30% over the three years.   Bread (28.4%), apples (28.2%), tofu (26.1%) and toilet paper (22.9%) rose in price by at least 15% during the same period, while gasoline (12.9%) and jajangmyeon (a cheap and popular noodle dish; 12.4%) went up by at least 9%.