1. The Korea-U.S. Bilateral Trade Consultations will be held from September 20-21 in Seoul in order to 
examine the state of bilateral trade.

 

     ※ Since March 2001, Korea and the U.S. have held quarterly trade talks to prevent the deterioration of 
trade relations between the two countries. These talks were suspended, however, in March 2006 
because of the negotiations on the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.

 

       - The Korea-U.S. Bilateral Trade Consultations are not a revival of the quarterly talks, but rather a 
result of an agreement between the two parties to consult on trade matters.

 

2. The Korean delegation will be headed by Director General Choi Jong-hyun of the Regional Trade 
Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It will also be composed of members from the 
Ministry of Finance and Economy, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Agrculture 
and Forestry, Ministry of Information and Communication, Ministry of Health and Welfare, and other 
related organizations. The U.S. delegation, which includes members of the Department of State, 
Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture, and other institutions, will be led by Arrow Augerot, 
the Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative.

 

3. The consultations are not related to the Korea-U.S. FTA that was concluded this April. They will be 
held for the purpose of examining various trade issues between the Korea and the U.S. The Korean 
delegation plans to discuss actions for inspections on exports of Korean Agricultural Products such as 
citrus, DRAM, copier paper, fair resolution of problems related to compensation duties for steel products, 
etc.

 

   о The agenda for the American delegation includes the matters of recycling electrical products and 
automobiles, energy standards for refrigerators, as well as the reimbursement for medical devices, etc.

 

                                                 Spokesperson of MOFAT

 

**unofficial translation