U.S. envoy says S.Korea trade deal is "win-win"
Posted on: Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 00:36 CST
SEOUL (Reuters) - The top U.S. envoy to Seoul on Tuesday reminded South Koreans a free trade deal would be good for both countries, a day after Seoul said it would not negotiate on rice, one of the most contentious issues in the discussions.
The two are expected to officially start talks in May on what would be Washington's biggest trade negotiations in 15 years.
Marking a drawing of battle lines, South Korea's agricultural minister said on Monday Seoul did not plan to strike a deal that includes provisions to increase imports of rice.
The chief U.S. agricultural negotiator said last week Seoul must open its rice market under any deal.
"Failure is not an option," U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow told a meeting at the Institute for Global Economics.
Vershbow said the two sides should take a balanced approach to the talks and strike a deal that could pass through the legislatures of both countries.
He said studies indicated the deal could lift South Korea's gross domestic product by about 2 percent and increase the GDP of the United States by about 0.2 percent.
"It is a real classic win-win scenario," he said.
Source: REUTERS
Related Articles
- Calgon Carbon Awarded Contract for Drinking Water Treatment in Seoul, South Korea
- Franklin Electronic Publishers in Cooperation with TESOL Hosts the First Country Event of the Franklin Global SpellEvent Tournament in Seoul, South Korea
- South, North Korea fail to agree on team make-up
- Seoul Urges North Korea, US to Resolve Issues Through Bilateral Talks
- Envoys meet in Seoul ahead of N.Korea nuclear talks
- Cuba Signs 330m-Dollar Generator Deal With South Korea
- N.Korea rocks nuclear deal; Seoul says not dead yet
- N.Korea hits nuclear deal; Seoul says not dead yet
- South, North Korea reach agreement in farm talks
- Rice: N. Korea Must Stop Stalling on Nukes
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds