76 Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock and Fisheries Groups Demand Immediate Halt to “CPTPP Accession Discussions”… Emergency Committee Officially Launched

An agricultural tariff elimination rate of over 96%, animal and plant quarantine divided not by country but by region, and fishery products from Fukushima. These are the reasons put forward by the agriculture, forestry, livestock and fisheries industries as to why accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) must be blocked.

A total of 76 agriculture, forestry, livestock and fisheries organizations nationwide held a launch ceremony and press conference for the “Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock and Fisheries Emergency Response Committee to Block CPTPP Accession” (hereinafter the Emergency Committee) at 2 p.m. on the 21st at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, urging the government to immediately halt discussions on joining the CPTPP. Representatives from member organizations attended the event, including the Korea Comprehensive Agricultural Organizations Council, the Korea Agriculture and Livestock Federation, Farmers’ Road with the People, the Council of Livestock-Related Organizations, fisheries-related groups, and the Korea Federation of Forestry Organizations.

Lee Seung-ho, president of the Korea Agriculture and Livestock Federation (and president of the Korea Dairy and Beef Farmers Association), said that day, “The CPTPP’s tariff elimination rate for agricultural products exceeds 96%, far above the average of about 79% for existing FTAs, making it a virtually complete market-opening agreement,” adding, “With many global agricultural powerhouses such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Chile and Mexico lined up as members, if accession becomes a reality, the domestic agricultural production base will be devastated.” He continued, “The CPTPP requires sanitary and phytosanitary quarantine standards to be applied by dividing areas into regions rather than by country, so even if livestock infectious diseases or pests run rampant in a particular country, our quarantine sovereignty to block imports will disappear.”

The fisheries industry put food safety issues front and center. Lee Tae-yong, president of the Korea Federation of Fisheries Business Leaders, said, “The CPTPP’s sanitary and quarantine rules weaken the grounds for banning imports of fishery products, including those from Fukushima, and lower quarantine barriers,” adding, “It is an undeniable fact that Japan has persistently demanded the resumption of imports of agricultural and fishery products from Fukushima, using Korea’s accession as a pretext.”
 

Agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forestry sectors unite after August formalization of “considering accession”

The formation of the Emergency Committee stemmed from the government’s move to consider joining the CPTPP. According to a progress report by Lee Sang-cheol, secretary-general of the Korea Agriculture and Livestock Federation, the government effectively formalized its consideration of pursuing CPTPP accession through the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s second-half work report on August 4, and then stated at the Ministerial Meeting on External Economic Affairs on August 27 that it would begin social discussions and gather opinions from stakeholders to review accession.

Agriculture, forestry, livestock and fisheries organizations held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall on August 6 and agreed to form a joint response body. Afterward, starting with the first preparatory meeting on August 12, they expanded participation to the forestry sector, and at a meeting on September 15 confirmed the official name.
 

Concerns over limits of damage compensation measures, tax-free fuel for fishing, and collapse of forestry foundation

In their remarks that day, the representatives poured out concerns about worsening farm management, the limits of damage compensation measures, restrictions on fisheries subsidies, and the collapse of the forestry foundation. 

Noh Man-ho, standing co-representative of the Emergency Committee (and president of the Korea Federation of Rural Leaders), said, “In a situation where difficulties are worsening due to aging, labor shortages, rising production costs, and successive climate disasters, adding yet another high level of market opening would effectively drive the agriculture, forestry and livestock industries to the brink of withering away,” adding, “If the gains from trade are taken by other industries while the damage and burden must once again be borne by agriculture, forestry and livestock, how can this be called fair trade?”

Chairman Lee Seung-ho pointed out, “In the process of concluding FTAs, the government has repeatedly made only concessions from the agriculture, livestock and fisheries industries, and damage compensation measures with grand names have not functioned properly,” adding, “The government said three times in June and July that CPTPP accession had not been decided, but on August 4 it formalized its pursuit.”

Chairman Lee Tae-yong, who voiced concern about the impact of subsidy rules, said, “If the payment of fisheries subsidies is strongly restricted in the name of protecting fishery resources, the reduction or abolition of support for tax-free fuel for fishing, worth hundreds of billions of won annually, will be inevitable,” adding, “In a situation already at the limit due to rising oil prices and aging fishing villages, if even tax-free fuel disappears, fishing boats will have no choice but to give up going to sea, and this will lead to a chain of bankruptcies among fishing households nationwide.”

Choi Sang-tae, president of the Korea Federation of Forestry Organizations, said, “Forestry is a long-term industry in which results are finally achieved only after decades of looking ahead and shedding blood and sweat, and it is also a core industry that protects the national land and environment in the era of the climate crisis,” adding, “In a situation where we are standing at the edge of a cliff, pushed aside by cheap imported timber and forest products, if the CPTPP strikes as well, the foundation of forestry will collapse entirely.”
 

Four demands, including halting CPTPP accession discussions and Mercosur negotiations

In a press conference statement read by Min Kyung-chun, president of the National Hanwoo Association, and Park Sung-hoon, president of the National Apple Producers Association, the Emergency Committee said, “Since the Uruguay Round, through bilateral FTAs and all the way to mega-FTAs such as the CPTPP, our country’s trade policy has been promoted on the premise of sacrificing the agriculture, forestry, livestock and fisheries industries,” and delivered four demands to the government and political circles: ▲immediately halt discussions on CPTPP accession ▲stop further market opening premised on sacrificing agriculture, forestry, livestock and fisheries ▲withdraw the push for CPTPP accession ▲halt negotiations with Mercosur (the Southern Common Market).
 

Meeting on the 28th to request ministry explanations… Large-scale rally in October

The Emergency Committee plans to continue activities at the central and regional levels until its demands are met. First, each organization will post banners in its region and launch blocking activities through social media.

At 2 p.m. on the 28th, it plans to hold a meeting hosted by the Emergency Committee in the Creation Room on the fourth floor of the aT Center in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, and request official explanations from relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and the Korea Forest Service, on matters such as the results of CPTPP impact assessments. This means the Emergency Committee will prepare the venue itself to hear the ministries’ positions, instead of attending a government-hosted meeting.

In October, it plans to hold a large-scale rally hosted by the Emergency Committee in front of the presidential office or the National Assembly. At the same time, it intends to demand that city, county, city-level and provincial councils adopt resolutions to block CPTPP accession, and to hold a National Assembly forum to publicize the justification for blocking accession.

The Emergency Committee stated, “The 76 agriculture, forestry, livestock and fisheries organizations nationwide will unite as one and continue joint action to block CPTPP accession until the end.”