'No Rush' in FTA Negotiations With U.S.: Roh

President Roh Moo-hyun told his government on Tuesday not to rush into an early conclusion of free trade talks with the U.S., which are now in their final stage. "Maybe we won’t bother signing the deal by the deadline,” Roh said, in apparent contradiction to the government's stated goal of clinching the deal by the end of March.

Presiding over a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Roh said, "I'm going to give you a guideline based on principles. We may choose to sign the deal if the country's economic interests are reflected properly, but scrap it if they’re not properly reflected in the final deal." He said it “would be good” if the FTA is concluded before the Bush administration's fast-track Trade Promotion Authority expires at the end of June. “But if we fail to settle it within this period, we can still continue despite some inconvenience." The authority granted by the U.S. Congress expires on July 1, so any trade deal has to be concluded by the end of this month to leave enough time for ratification. It is doubtful if a Democrat-dominated Congress will renew it.

Roh suggested settling for an “intermediate or lower-level FTA” if the U.S. or Korea have any markets they don’t want to open to competition from the other. "We can scrap the deal or not. We can extend the deadline or not. We can choose among a low, intermediate or high level of agreement. But any final deal should be soundly based on practical national and public interests. All the negotiations have to be carried out under mercantile principles." Roh also asked the Cabinet to leave non-economic factors such as the effects of the FTA on Korea-U.S. relations out of their consideration and pay no heed to political factors like protests.

The statement apparently refers to sensitive issues such as rice, cars and textiles, which have been left for high-level talks because profound differences remain between the two countries. In a telephone conversation with Bush on Feb. 14, Roh agreed to "encourage” Korean negotiators to do their best so the deal can be concluded at “the appropriate time.”

(englishnews@chosun.com)

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