1. BILATERAL/MULTILATERAL ISSUES
Summary: The Democratic Party is asking the Korean government (ROKG) to postpone the reduction of beef duty for 10 years and then reduce the current 40 percent duty by 8 percent every year from Year 11 and make it duty free in Year 15. However, the ROKG is saying that such request is impossible to accept as it would mean that we would have to renegotiate the whole FTA. The Democratic Party is also asking for changes to the KORUS FTA in non-ag related areas as a precondition for ratification of the KORUS FTA bill.
Summary: The ruling and opposition parties once again clashed on Monday over the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Following the U.S. Congress’ ratification of the bill last week, the ruling Grand National Party urged the parliamentary foreign affairs committee to follow suit, but the main opposition Democratic Party claimed that protective measures for local industries should come first. “A trade agreement, once ratified, is more difficult to revise than the Constitution,” said DP chairman Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu in the party Supreme Council meeting on Monday. “We need to think carefully whether it is beneficial for Korea to rush its ratification just because its U.S. counterpart did so.” Floor leader Rep. Kim Jin-pyo pushed the government to come up with necessary protective measures in the form of legislation and budget allocation before the approval of the bill. Sohn also spoke directly to President Lee Myung-bak on the issue during the afternoon’s luncheon meeting hosted by Lee to report on the results of his recent summit with U.S. President Barack Obama. In the meeting, he opposed any move to rush the bill through the parliament.
Summary: The debate to reach a conclusion of the KORUS FTA bill held at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification of the National Assembly ended after 2 hours without producing any concrete conclusion. Both ruling and opposition parties are blaming each other for the breakup of the debate.
Summary: Leaders of the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement at a Blue House luncheon yesterday, with Representative Sohn Hak-kyu, chairman of the Democratic Party, insisting on renegotiations and revisions. President Lee Myung-bak invited Sohn, Grand National Party Chairman Hong Joon-pyo and five other top government officials to the Blue House to brief them on last week’s state visit to the United States.
2. LIVESTOCK ISSUES
Japan looks at allowing import of U.S. beef under thirty month [Korean: BYK]
Summary: The Japanese government is looking into the possibility of allowing U.S. beef imports that are from cattle that are under 30 months old (UTM). Up to now, Japan only allowed U.S. beef under 20months. Japan may allow beef from UTM during the first half of 2012. It plans to announce this when the Japanese Prime Minister meets with President Obama next month. If Japan takes this measure, it will also look at allowing beef from Canada, Netherlands and France. However, given that there were more BSE cases in Europe, it will likely only allow beef from Europe that is under 20 months.
The next target for U.S. after KORUS FTA will be to enlarge beef exports [Korean: BYK]
Summary: Based on the letter that USTR sent to Senator Max Baucus on May 4th where USTR promised the Senator that it would request Korea for consultations on the beef protocol after the KORUS FTA has been implemented, pressure to open up the U.S. beef market further is expected. The protocol calls for holding consultations within 7 days after one of the government request for one. An official from MIFAFF stated that it would agree to hold the consultations if the United States requests for one but said that there wasn’t anything to give to the United States. He said that there wasn’t any definition for what both sides would consider as recovery of consumer confidence and said that opening up the Korean beef market further was the sovereign right of Korea. Sang-Pyo PARK of the Veterinarians Coalition said that you can’t say that consumer confidence has recovered when the amount that is being stocked in the warehouse is increasing faster than the amount being imported.
Canada will go to WTO if Korea does not allow its beef imports by the end of 2011 [Korean: BYK]
Summary: The Canadian Minister for Agriculture that is visiting Germany stated that it will take the beef case to WTO if Korea fails to allow Canadian beef imports by the end of this year. Both countries had agreed that if Korea publishes the beef protocol in the gazette, Canada would ask WTO for a suspension of the Dispute Settlement Panel and would only withdraw the whole case from WTO after Korea actually begins to import Canadian beef.
3. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
Restaurateurs to protest card rates[English, KJH]
http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/html/926/2942926.html
Summary: With restaurateurs from across the country set to rally today in protest against high credit card transaction fees and tight restrictions on hiring foreign labor, their customers have been told to pack a lunch. An estimated 100,000 restaurateurs are set to rally at Jamsil Sports Complex in southern Seoul today, which will close restaurants nationwide over the lunch hour. According to the Korea Restaurant Association, the card transaction fees for restaurants should be lowered to 1.5 percent from the current rate of about 2.5 percent to come in line with rates charged to other businesses, such as gas stations and department stores.
Restaurants Protest for Lower Credit Card Processing Fee [Korean, OSY]
http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/society/2011/10/18/0701000000AKR20111018105700004.HTML?template=2085
Summary: Some 3,000 owners of restaurants under the Korea Restaurant Association gathered in Seoul and staged a group protest for lower credit card processing fee. The association has been arguing that the high fee charged by credit card companies is a serious threat to the business. The number of crowd gathered was far less than what the association planned for (100,000).
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