Asia-Pacific

South Korea, US fail to resolve trade deal row

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-11-11 20:07

SEOUL - The United States and South Korea failed to revive a stalled free trade agreement on Thursday, dealing a blow to both countries' leaders and putting a brake on bilateral trade.

US President Barack Obama and South Korea's Lee Myung-bak said negotiators would continue talks to address US concerns that the deal does not do enough to open South Korean markets to US beef and autos.

US President Barack Obama speaks next to South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak (R) during a joint news conference at the presidential Blue House in Seoul Nov 11, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]

"We agreed that more time is needed to resolve detailed issues and asked trade ministers to reach a mutually acceptable deal as soon as possible," Lee told a joint news conference with Obama on the sidelines of a G20 summit.

The deal, if ratified by the two countries' assemblies, would be one of the largest free trade pacts ever. It is the largest signed by the United States since the North American Free Trade Agreement that went into effect in 1994.

Studies said the deal would boost the $66.7 billion annual two-way trade by as much as a quarter.

Lee said negotiators would return to the table after the G20 meetings are over this week to try to resolve US concerns, but rejected the suggestion that trade between the two allies was on a fundamentally unfair footing.

"US trade (deficit) against South Korea is about $8 billion a year. Americans seems to think it is very large; it may once used to have been, but it's come down by a lot," Lee said, adding the two were on more or less an even playing field when US-made parts and intellectual property rights were factored in.

Obama said he was confident that the two sides would eventually reach an agreement and was reassured of Lee's commitment.

"President Lee and I agreed that we need to make sure that over the next several weeks, we are crossing all the t's, dotting all the i's, being able to make the case to both the Korean people and the United States population that this is good for both countries.

"... We don't want months to pass before we get this done, we want this to be done in a matter of weeks."