S.Korea, U.S. begin preliminary talks on trade deal

SEOUL (Reuters) – Trade negotiators from South Korea and
the United States met on Monday for preliminary talks on a free
trade deal, amid a rally by farmers and unionists in Seoul
opposed to the agreement.

Seoul and Washington have already had a showdown on the
issue of rice ahead of the opening of formal negotiations in
May on a free trade agreement.

Ambassador Kim Jong-hoon of South Korea and Assistant U.S.
Trade Representative Wendy Cutler met at South Korea’s Foreign
Ministry to discuss how to set up the talks and the dates for
the first formal round, the ministry said.

South Korean farmers and unionists, who have a history of
violent protests, held a rally on Monday calling for the
break-up of the talks and warned there would be fierce
demonstrations against the deal.

“The Roh Moo-hyun government will never be excused,” said
Moon Kyung-sik, the head of the Korea Peasants’ League,
referring to the South Korean president. “We will be fighting
stronger battles than we did last year.”

Two members of Moon’s group were killed last year in
clashes with riot police in violent demonstrations against
South Korea’s agreement with rice exporting countries to
gradually raise its tight quota of imports.

President Roh said last month reaching a free trade deal
with the United States would be one of the top priorities in
the remainder of his term, which ends in February 2008.

The window of opportunity for the two countries to reach a
deal is small, as the authority of the White House to negotiate
a trade pact that cannot be amended by Congress expires in July
2007.

Some of the contentious areas include exports of South
Korean cars and steel to the United States as well as the South
Korean service sector. Seoul has already said rice must not be
part of the deal while Washington insisted it must be on the
table.

“Opening agriculture is definitely a big barrier, but
opening (South Korean) services will also be important,” said
Daniella Markheim, a trade economist at the Heritage Foundation
in Washington.

Trade between the two countries totaled more than $72.5
billion in 2004, with a $19.8 billion surplus for South Korea.

(With additional reporting by Paul Eckert in Washington)