Whether or not to keep South Korea developing country status is the question trade officials have been trying to answer with their U.S. counterparts at the World Trade Organization.
Our Kim Hye-sung has more on the details of the meeting.
South Korea's trade minister Yoo Myung-hee said the government has conveyed its stance that the agriculture industry needs to be taken into account in deciding whether South Korea maintains its developing country status at the WTO.
Her comments come after a meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and President Trump's top economic advisor Larry Kudlow in Washington on Tuesday local time.
The trade minister said the U.S. highlighted how some countries that have already reached certain development levels still get special treatment through their developing nation status, and that this hurts reform and development at the WTO.
In July, President Trump accused some countries including South Korea, that are among the world’s richest economies, of abusing the WTO’s developing nation status.
He said the U.S. will stop treating such countries as developing nations should the WTO fail to make substantial progress after 90 days, which is October 23rd.
WTO privileges for developing economies include longer transition periods for implementing trade agreements, technical assistance, and protection against emergency import restrictions imposed by developed nations.
The deprival of such status is expected to hurt South Korea’s farmers, who are protected by subsidies and tariffs on agricultural goods like rice.
Trade Minister Yoo said the government will consider Korea's national interest, its global economic status, the global economic environment and stakeholders related to the matter, and make its decision on whether to keep its WTO developing nation status later this month.
Meanwhile, the meeting between government officials and farmers' representatives on Tuesday in Seoul to discuss the issue ended abruptly after the farmers' demand to have the meeting open to the public was not accepted.
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.
