The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy announced on Aug. 18 that the Ministry and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will convene a special session meeting of the Joint Committee under the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) on August 22 in Seoul.

 

Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong and USTR Robert Lighthizer will open the meeting via videoconference, which will be followed by senior-level discussions in Seoul. USTR Chief of Staff Jamieson Greer and Assistant USTR for Japan, Korea, and APEC Michael Beeman will attend the meeting in Seoul.

 

The Ministry received on July 13 a letter from the USTR requesting a special session of the KORUS FTA Joint Committee. In a reply to the letter on July 24, Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Paik Ungyu proposed the venue of the meeting as Seoul, as stipulated in the KORUS FTA, and a date to be set in the near future after the completion of Korea’s government restructuring process. The two sides subsequently confirmed the venue and the date through consultations.  

 

As Minister Paik stated in his letter to the USTR, the Korean representatives will highlight that the KORUS FTA has generated mutually beneficial outcomes in terms of bilateral trade, investment and employment over the past five years since its entry into force. The Ministry will also discuss how best to work together to objectively examine, analyze and assess the effects of the KORUS FTA since its entry into force.