South Korea, US fail to resolve trade deal row
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.
"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; Kazinform cites China Daily. See www.chinadaily.com.cn for full version.