Rival parties make little progress in talks over U.S. FTA

(ATTN: UPDATES with quotes from opposition lawmaker, presidential official in last 3 paras)
SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- Rival parties made little progress Friday in negotiations to narrow differences over the long-pending free trade agreement with the U.S. as opposition lawmakers kept up their demand for renegotiations of the deal that they claim favors the U.S.
In an attempt to pressure the government and the ruling party, the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) put forward what they call a "10 plus two" proposal earlier this week that calls for revising 10 items in the trade pact through renegotiations with the U.S.
It also calls for two measures aimed at minimizing the deal's effect on the local industries.



The proposal was the main topic at a three-way meeting Friday among the government, the ruling Grand National Party and the DP. The negotiating body was set up last month to narrow the wide gap between the rival parties over the pact, and Friday was the third time they had met.
The trade agreement, signed in 2007 and supplemented last December to address U.S. concerns over its auto industry, has been awaiting approval from the legislatures of the two countries. The opposition party claims the pact became unbalanced after last year's renegotiation and therefore should be revised again.
"As we lost some parts in the renegotiation, we have to make our demands on the parts that we believe need improvement through another renegotiation and get at least some of them accepted. That would be desirable for our national interests," Rep. Choi Kyu-sung of the DP told the meeting.
But Rep. Yoo Ki-june of the ruling party criticized the opposition party, saying it is demanding renegotiation on the parts that were agreed upon with the U.S. when it was in power in 2007.
"I believe it's time to put the FTA bill before the parliamentary foreign affairs and trade committee," he said. "As the U.S. has said it would submit the bill to Congress at a very early date, it's time for us to conduct our deliberations of the pact."
The prospects of the deal's ratification in the U.S. before Congress goes into summer recess early next month appear to have dimmed significantly. White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley said Tuesday the administration will soon send the pact to Congress for a vote, but it was unclear whether it can be approved before the Aug. 6 recess.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Wednesday that the administration hopes to "very quickly announce a process on how we will be able to move that forward." The widespread view is that Congress would act on the deal in September.
Still, GNP leader Hong Joon-pyo also stressed Thursday that the trade deal must be ratified in next month's extraordinary session, saying the accord will face greater obstacles starting in September as rival parties fight over the national budget and other domestic political issues.
On Friday, DP floor leader Rep. Kim Jin-pyo said that the party can never agree to pass the deal in the August session at a time when it is unclear when the U.S. Congress will ratify the pact.
Officials at the presidential office said that they aim to win ratification in next month's session, claiming that South Korea stands to gain from the accord and U.S. ratification is not a precondition for Seoul's ratification.
They claimed that the pact should at least be introduced in parliament next month so that it can be ready for ratification at any time.