Brussels, 18/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - South Korea has postponed the meeting to be held in Brussels mid-September until 24 and 25 September in order to seek to put an end to the inextricable quarrel between South Korea and the Union on its shipbuilding trade practices. The shipbuilding sector is among the most competitive in the world in a context marked by a generalised slowdown in demand. Just a few days before this new "last chance meeting" (see EUROPE of 23 and 28 August), the Fifteen are stepping up pressure on Seoul by promising unequivocal support to the European Commission if multilateral arbitration proves necessary failing an amicable solution by the deadline of 30 September, a deadline that they had set for launching this approach with binding effect.
The Commission, say sources familiar with discussions within the Committee 133 of the Council, has received clear support from Member States for bringing the matter before the World Trade Organisation (WTO) should talks fail. Member States' representatives in Brussels generally backed it in its efforts to put an end to the unfair practices of South Korean shipyards, it is stated, saying that the greatest disappointment last Friday concerned the lack of progress made at the negotiating session held in Seoul at the end of August, which marked the resumption of talks that had been suspended for almost a year. "One has the impression that the Koreans have even back-pedalled compared to the position they had adopted recently", the same sources say. On the Commission's side, there is more sober talk about the "lack of an agreement on the core of the problem which represents the normal value of the different categories of Korean ships, which must reflect all production-related costs. We have made a proposal but Seoul finds this estimation of the normal value far too high". Speaking in Seoul, one of the Korean negotiators had put this lack of progress for the umpteenth time down to the "unacceptable" demand made by Europeans to increase the price of some Korean ships by 20% despite the fact that the predominant trend is towards slowdown. This, he says, is proof that Europeans "do not really want to find a solution".
In parallel to the Euro-Korean meeting next week, the Fifteen will hold a last round before the General Affairs Council (which is to rule on possible WTO action) and that on competitiveness (the European Commission will present its first report on the implementation of the temporary defence mechanism allowing builders of container vessels and chemical and oil product carrier vessels to benefit from public aid ceilinged at 6% of the contract value). Furthermore, the first bilateral summit with South Korea will be held in Copenhagen on the fringe of the Asem Summit