Backsliding reported | South Koreans want to start negotiations ‘from scratch’
Crucial trade talks with South Korea, stalled for years, may be facing a setback because the Koreans want to return agricultural negotiations to the beginning, says a malt industry leader.
In an appearance before the House of Commons international trade committee, Malting Industry Association of Canada president Phil De Kemp said he had been informed that Canadian trade officials recently returned from Seoul with that message.
Canadian beef and pork producers are particularly anxious to see negotiations resume after a three-year hiatus. South Korean free trade deals with competitor countries could erode Canadian meat advantage in that lucrative market.
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Canada has indicated it wants negotiations to restart.
De Kemp said the signal is that “the South Koreans were not interested in wanting to re-engage,” he told MPs. They want to start “from scratch.”
Liberal MP and trade critic Wayne Easter said De Kamp was echoing what he had heard. “That’s basically what we’re hearing from the beef and pork industry as well.”
De Kemp said his source about the South Korean position was Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance executive director Kathleen Sullivan and an e-mail she sent to CAFTA members.
But in an interview later, Sullivan said she was “baffled” by the suggestion that there has been backsliding in trade talks with Korea.
“It remains one of our high priorities and we are still hopeful,” she said. “I believe we are in the same position we have been with Korea for some time.”
Still, the Koreans have shown no enthusiasm to restart talks that last were held in 2008.
Canada has asked to restart the talks that are stalled over discussions on agriculture and auto trade.
“If this does not happen, I don’t think it will be because Canada hasn’t tried,” said Sullivan. “This is a very important market for us and we can’t afford to lose it.”
