[Editorial] Nat'l Assembly Must Examine Rice Negotiations

The government has given final announcement about the results of whether or not there will be a grace period on flat tariffs for rice. There will be a 10-year delay, but the low-tariff import quota will be raised from 4 percent to 7.96 percent of domestic consumption. As we have noted before, it is most regrettable to have the government hurrying to conclude an agreement that is so unfavorable.

To begin with, it is wrong to be in such a hurry to conclude the negotiations. The government says that if it did not conclude an agreement by the end of 2004 then flat tariffs would begin automatically starting in 2005, but many experts say that is not the case. There is plenty of room for dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO). By insisting that the end of the year be the deadline, the government weakened its own negotiating position.

What exactly is meant by a 7.96 percent low-tariff import quota is something that must be made clear. The years 1988 through 1990 are being made the basis for determining the ratio of what must be imported. In other words, what will be imported is 7.96 percent of the average domestic consumption for 1988-1990. At the time, however, domestic consumption was more than 5.6 million tons, a historical record. Therefore, when you consider how rice consumption has been shrinking, Korea's rice import quota will be well over 7.96 percent of current domestic consumption.

The government should have set the late nineties as the basis for establishing the ratio, as that is when rice consumption shrank, but it made the mistake of going with 1988-1990. The amount that gets imported is to be decided between 2004 and 2014, so the government needs to explain why it chose the period that it did.

It is also makes no sense why the government promised to sell imported rice for consumption as food. It says that it had no choice if it wanted to get a ten-year deferment, but it would be worth asking if that is really the case or if it is the result of a lack of negotiating capability.

The government says it will ask the National Assembly for ratification after the agreement has been examined by the WTO. We encourage the National Assembly to not wait until it is time for a ratification vote. It should form perhaps a special committee to look into whether the agreement was done right. Only by doing so will the country be hit with less of a shock over failed negotiations.

The Hankyoreh, 31 December 2004.

[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]