한ㆍ중 FTA 농산물 협상의 주요 쟁점과 협상전략

Main Issues of Agriculture in Korea-China FTA and Korea s Negotiation Strategies

Korea and China had completed first-stage negotiations on the bilateral free trade agreement(FTA), setting foundations for more in-depth talks over mutual opening and liberalization. Both sides wrapped up the first-phase negotiations for the Korea-China FTA by agreeing on the modality(basic guidelines). The two countries agreed to abolish tariffs within a certain period of time on 90 percent of all products in terms of the number of items, and on 85 percent of imports in terms of their monetary value. Tariffs on normal items will be removed immediately or within 10 years after the implementation of the FTA, while those on sensitive products will be abolished within 10-20 years after the deal takes effect. Highly sensitive items, which will be excluded from tariff removal, took up 10 percent of the total in the first-stage talks. Economic cooperation, including government procurement and cooperation in industry and agricultural sectors, will be included in the second-stage negotiations. As the FTA agreement is expected to have negative effects on the Korean agriculture and fishery sectors, Korea needs to protect highly sensitive items in agriculture and fishery sectors in order to minimize negative economic effects in those areas. Some specific Korean negotiation strategies for agriculture and fishery sectors for the second-phase negotiations.