Foreigners Eye Korea's Postal, Delivery Market

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade [S. Korea] said yesterday that the government will kick off bilateral negotiations for the liberalization of the service sector pertinent to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services in Geneva July 22-26. According to the ministry, the government will dispatch a group of some 20 officials and experts from nine related government agencies to Geneva to hold negotiations with other WTO member nations, including the United States, Japan, China and the European Union, a ministry official said. Bilateral negotiation is largely a confirming process in which the involved nations ask for additional information of the countries asking for access to their markets.” The Korea Herald: “In its application, Korea demanded bilateral bargaining over market access to 36 nations, including the United States, China, Japan and Indonesia. Those countries that are requesting access to the Korean market, on the other hand, number 16 so far, including the United States, the European Union, China, Canada, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Singapore, Norway, Poland, Brazil, Panama, Argentina and Uruguay. The requests for market opening in Korea are said to include new areas like the energy supply sector, transference of human resources in the service field and the easing of restrictions and laws in sectors like law, health, medicine, education, delivery and postal services. The negotiation schedule for the service sector begins with the submission of initial requests by end of June. Responses are to be presented by the end of March next year and the agreements for market access are to be completed before January 2005.”