South Korea's demands can jeopardise FTA – Gutierrez
SOUTH KOREA - South Korea's demands that the United States change its anti-dumping laws could wreck chances of pushing through a free trade agreement, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said on Tuesday.
13 December 2006
1 minute read
The issue was a major obstacle in the latest round of negotiations last week on a trade deal between the United States and Asia's third-biggest economy.
'We have a mandate from Congress to carry out Free Trade Agreements (FTA) without changing our dumping laws,' Gutierrez told reporters during a visit to the South Korean capital.
'And we have a serious concern that if we request the change to those laws, that could be something that stops or jeopardises the approval of the free trade agreements.'
An agreement would be the biggest U.S. free trade deal for more than a decade and needs approval by Congress, many of whose members see anti-dumping as vital protection against unfair trade practices. Seoul however believes such measures are often unfairly applied to its products.
Source: Reuters
