KORUS FTA Joint Committee Scheduled for October 4

The Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy announced on September 23 that the second special session of the KORUS FTA Joint Committee takes place in Washington D.C. on October 4 (local time).

Earlier, South Korean Minister of Trade Kim Hyeon-jong had a trade ministers meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington D.C. on September 20. There, the two agreed on the necessity of the second special session as a chance to further develop what they discussed in the first special session.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy sent a letter to the USTR on September 21 to propose the opening of the second special session in Washington D.C. In the letter, Minister Kim Hyeon-jong said that the two sides can have an open-minded dialogue at the second session in order to maximize the reciprocity of the agreement. The two countries agreed on the date through working-level talks, but have yet to fix the agenda and their lists of representatives.

At the first special session held on August 22 in Seoul, they only confirmed the difference between their stances. At the meeting, the U.S. claimed that the KORUS FTA should be adjusted in view of its increasing trade deficit whereas South Korea suggested a joint research and analysis on the economic effect of the free trade deal.