Saudi Arabia urges stronger global action to protect children in cyberspace at UN    911 emergency centers handle over 2.8 million calls in March    Musk's X is suing India, as Tesla and Starlink plan entry    Tesla sales plunge after backlash against Elon Musk    Saudi Arabia posts SR49.8 billion travel surplus in 2024 as visitor spending hits SR153.6 billion    World leaders call Trump tariffs 'wrong' and 'unjustified'    Israel announces expansion of military operation in Gaza to seize 'large areas' of land    US cancels visa of Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias    Danish prime minister refutes US claim on Greenland on visit to the Arctic territory    Aubameyang fires Al Qadsiah into King's Cup final with stoppage-time winner over Al Raed    Cristiano Ronaldo joins Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves    Saudi Arabia welcomes trilateral border treaty between Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan    Swedish table tennis legend Jörgen Persson appointed head coach of Saudi national team    Danilo Pereira fires Al Ittihad into King's Cup final with dramatic stoppage-time double    Tebuk emir reviews rain response in Tayma    Saudi Arabia considers rent cap as part of major real estate reforms    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Outlook cloudy for SKorea-US free trade agreement
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 26 - 12 - 2008

Call it the free trade follies. South Korean opposition politicians last week used a sledgehammer to try and force their way into a barricaded committee room to stop the ruling party from introducing debate on a tariff-slashing free trade agreement with the United States, according to AP.
Fire extinguishers were used amid the melee _ it's not entirely clear by whom _ that threw South Korea's National Assembly into chaos.
The brouhaha highlights the emotional intensity such pacts can trigger _ as well as this one's murky outlook.
The South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement has languished in political limbo since being signed nearly 18 months ago.
It still needs approval from legislatures in both
countries, but two major developments since then have
raised questions about its passage: Major political changes in both South Korea and the United States and the global financial crisis.
Conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who took office in February, is a firm supporter of the deal, negotiated and signed by the previous liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration.
Lee's Grand National Party wants South Korea to ratify the pact first _ as early as by the end of this year _ potentially making it harder for the incoming U.S.
administration of President-elect Barack Obama, seen as taking a harder line on free trade, to call for a
renegotiation of the free trade agreement.
Fears of such a scenario intensified as a result of the final presidential debate in October, when Obama singled out South Korea by noting a wide imbalance in auto trade between the two nations _ in particular the far smaller number of U.S. cars entering South Korea.
«That is not free trade,» he said in the debate. «We've got to have a president who is going to be advocating on behalf of American businesses and American workers and I make no apology for that.»
South Korean automakers including Hyundai Motor Co. sold 772,482 vehicles in the United States in 2007, while Detroit sold 6,235 in South Korea, according to statistics compiled by South Korean auto industry groups.
Members of Roh's former party, now in opposition under a new name, the Democratic Party, say they still favor the deal _ but want to ensure measures are in place to help farmers and others seen as vulnerable to more U.S. imports.
They warn against being too hasty in ratifying the
agreement.
So on Dec. 18, when the ruling GNP introduced legislation to a National Assembly trade committee without the Democrats, the opposition politicians used a sledgehammer and other construction tools to tear open the committee room's wooden doors, only to find GNP lawmakers had set up barricades of furniture inside.
The attempt to storm the room failed, and the GNP
introduced the bill _ a move the Democratic Party called illegal.


Clic here to read the story from its source.