And to tell us more about the revised Korea-U.S. FTA,.... and what changes we can expect in
regards to trade with the U.S. from here on,...
Professor Lee Jae-min from the Seoul National University School of Law joins us in the studio
today.
Welcome to the program professor.
Great to be here.
1- Korea and the U.S. have finally reached an agreement on revising their six-year-old
free trade agreement.
But I think this agreement on the revised deal came a bit earlier than expected, don't
you think so? (especially when comparing the negotiations to the ongoing NAFTA talks)
2- This agreement is especially notable amid rising trade tensions between major economies
around the world right now.
3- Let's look at the details then.
First and foremost, the revised deal gives more benefits to American automakers.
Tell us more about this.
4- In exchange though, Korean steelmakers have been made exempt from the heavy tariffs
imposed by President Trump.
Tell us more about this.
5- Seoul's Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong also said,.... that there will be no additional
opening of South Korea's agricultural market.... despite strong demand from the U.S. to open
up the market further.
6- The Korean government seemed satisfied with the result considering Korea is the third-largest
steel exporter to the U.S. What's *your assessment of the revised FTA?
7- So what impact will the deal have on different sectors from now on, especially Korea's auto
and steel industries.
8- Back in January though, Trump approved safeguards against Korean large home washing
machines and solar cells and modules.
What will happen
to
those safeguards?
9- With the closure of renegotiations on the KORUS FTA, is it fair for us to say
that the trade risks stemming from the U.S. have died down a bit?
10- Aside from Korea, we've been hearing that the U.S.
has
been preparing to negotiate deals around the region.
In fact, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, the U.S. and China have started
behind-the-scenes negotiations to improve American access to Chinese markets.
Thank you for
your
insight today professor.
Anytime.