|
Lawmaker says without changes, the FTA is not worth considering
May 13, 2008
|
|
| After days of charges both inside and outside the National Assembly that the government’s plan to resume importing United States beef is wrong, opposition lawmakers said yesterday that they will file a lawsuit to stop the plan. Three opposition parties — United Democratic, Liberty Forward and Democratic Labor — said they will file a constitutional suit today to stop the government from implementing on Thursday terms of a Korea-U.S. agreement on imported beef. “We want to protect the people from harm to their lives, health and safety. This cannot be done if the Minister of Agriculture legally implements the agreement,” said the lawmakers in a draft of the lawsuit. The lawmakers also want the Korean government to go back to the bargaining table with the U.S. to hammer out key changes to the agreement before the beef imports are approved. One change they want is for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to toughen animal feed regulations that it loosened this year and return to strict regulation that it had in the past. The government had earlier reassured the public that the level of the regulation of animal feed was still the same. When opposition parties pointed out that it wasn’t, the Agriculture Ministry admitted later that the government had mistranslated a statement by the United States. Presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan expressed regrets over the mistranslation and the resulting concerns that it caused. Cha Young, the UDP spokeswoman, scoffed at the government’s response and called for a renegotiation. She also said that Agriculture Minister Chung Woon-chun should resign from his post. As opposition parties voice their concerns about U.S. beef, it appears that new imports face a bumpy road on the way to the Korean market. And the nation will wait to see what impact this might have on the proposed Korea-U.S. free trade agreement. “Without a renegotiation on the beef deal, there is no point in discussing the ratification of the FTA,” said Kim Hyo-seuk, the UDP floor leader. A sudden switch in the discussion by the UDP was one more danger sign that a hearing scheduled for today and tomorrow to discuss ratification of the FTA might turn into a debate about how to stop it. The UDP removed for the hearing lawmakers who were lukewarm to the FTA, such as Sohn Hak-kyu, and replaced them with staunch opponents, such as lawmakers Choi Jae-cheon and Kang Chang-il. By Lee Min-a Staff Reporter [mina@joongang.co.kr] |
|
