Five countries, including the United States, have so far raised objections to South Korea's proposed tariff rate on its rice imports, officials said Tuesday, as negotiations begin on the terms for South Korea's rice market opening.
   
After 20 years of waivers, South Korea liberalized its rice market through tariffication at the start of the year with a 513 percent tariff to be imposed on all non-mandatory rice imports.
   
The country has to import 408,700 tons of rice every year under minimum market access (MMA). Such mandatory imports are subject to only a 5 percent tariff.
   
The tariff rate for non-mandatory imports must be agreed upon by members of the World Trade Organization (WTO). South Korean officials say the process may take years, noting such a process for Taiwan took 57 months.
   
According to South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, five countries -- the U.S., China, Australia, Thailand and Vietnam -- have filed a complaint with the WTO, arguing that the offered tariff rate for non-mandatory imports is too high.
   
South Korean officials said these countries hold a special interest in Seoul's rice market.
   
"Of the countries that have raised an objection, four, except Vietnam, had jointly shared a country-specific quota of 200,000 tons per year in rice exports to South Korea under the MMA quota," Choi Seok-young, chief of the South Korean mission to Geneva, told reporters. 
   
These four countries oppose South Korea's rice market opening as it has ceased the country-specific quota, meaning South Korea no longer is required to import rice from them.
  
Choi and the South Korean trade ministry assured that Seoul has no intention of making a concession, saying its tariff rate is more than reasonable when compared to those of Japan and Taiwan that liberalized their local rice markets before South Korea.
  
South Korea's 513 percent tariff is an ad valorem duty, which is tax based on the price of an article.
   
Taiwan and Japan, on the other hand, impose a specific tax, which fixes the amount of tax depending on the weight of rice imports.
   
"Japan and Taiwan liberalized their rice markets with a specific tax, which at the time of their market opening translated into an ad valorem tax of over 1,000 percent," Choi told reporters.
  
The South Korean trade ministry said Seoul needs to reach an agreement with each and every one of the countries that have objected to the tariff rate before obtaining an official WTO approval.
   
"The government will do its utmost to make sure the country's rice import tariff rate is fixed as it is, through negotiations with the countries that have filed a complaint," the ministry said. (Yonhap)