U.S.-Korea FTA News

Months after the signing of a revised U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting consultations with Seoul over concerns about practices endorsed by the Korea Free Trade Commission and changes the country is mulling to its monopoly law.

South Korea should be prepared to challenge national security-based import restrictions on Korean autos and auto parts at the World Trade Organization and elsewhere because such duties are “not logical,” a former senior Korean trade official said on Wednesday.

The Trump administration will have its hands full in 2019, with new talks slated to begin with Brussels, Tokyo, London and potentially more, as well as the implementation of a revised deal with South Korea. The fate of the U.S.-Mexico -Canada Agreement will also be determined next year by a new Congress.

Washington and Seoul will hold consultations under the auspices of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement to discuss revising the rules of origin for textile products that are not commercially available in either country.

“This is long in coming,” Trump said. “Many years, actually, I will say, in coming.”

Rules of origin governing whether some chemicals will be eligible for benefits under a new U.S.-Mexico trade pact are more flexible than provisions in the North American Free Trade Agreement, sources said, adding the new rules are akin to those included in the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.

The U.S. and South Korea, in their talks on how to modify the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, agreed to establish panels to monitor rules of origin and investment issues, according to documents released this week.

The U.S. on Wednesday amended a controversial Section 232 process to allow companies from countries that agreed to separate quota deals for steel and aluminum to apply for product exclusions.