South Korea is pushing hard for a free trade pact with the United States to take effect on Jan. 1, but Washington wants more time for preparations, a U.S. news provider reported Friday.
The two sides had working-level discussions on a timetable on Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, but they stopped short of a deal, said Inside U.S. Trade, an online trade news provider, citing informed sources.
The U.S. Congress passed the free trade agreement, signed in 2007, in October and South Korea’s National Assembly followed suit last month.
Korea is ready for the implementation of the accord, but the U.S. had not finished “translating th laws and accompanying regulations,” it quoted unidentified business sources as saying.
The sources added that U.S. officials regard President Barack Obama’s trip to Seoul for the March 26-27 Nuclear Security Summit as a “hard deadline” by which they must complete the implementation work.
(Yonhap News)
