South Korea’s TPP negotiations may reach an agreement in the first half of today

According to Yonhap News Agency’s report on January 26, Woo Tae-hee, director of the Trade and Negotiation Office of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea, said on January 26 that based on the recent trends in U.S.-Japan negotiations and U.S. President Obama’s call on Congress to grant him trade promotion in his State of the Union address, Judging from the situation of authorization (TPA), TPP negotiations may reach an agreement in the first half of this year. The South Korean government will decide whether to participate in TPP negotiations and the specific methods of negotiations based on safeguarding national interests to the greatest extent possible. The Korea Trade Association stated that after South Korea joins the TPP, South Korea will have the opportunity to compete on an equal footing with Japan in the intermediate product markets of the 12 countries participating in the TPP. At present, the government and enterprises must work together to formulate specific response plans and decide as soon as possible whether to participate in TPP negotiations.