January 5, 2018
Michael
Beeman
Assistant
United States Trade Representative
Office of
the United States Trade Representative
Washington,
D.C.
Dear Mr. Beeman:
This
letter is to acknowledge receipt of your letter of this date, which reads as
follows:
“In preparation for initiating negotiations on amendments and modifications
to the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), I would like to
outline the following important points about the handling of documents in the context of the negotiations, and confirm that you agree with this approach:
·
First, negotiating documents, such as proposals of both
sides, accompanying explanatory material, written communications related to the
substance of the negotiations, and other documents exchanged in the context of
the negotiations will be held in confidence by both sides. This means that the documents may be provided
only to (1) government officials, including
members of our respective legislative branches, or (2)
persons outside government who participate in that government’s domestic
consultation process and who have a need to review or be advised of the
information in these documents. Anyone
given access to the documents will be informed that they cannot share the
documents with people not authorized to see it.
Both sides will hold these documents
in confidence for four years after entry into force of
the results of these negotiations,
or if no results enter into force, for four years after the last round of negotiations. However, these restrictions will not apply to
both sides regarding their own position.
Both sides will be free to disclose that information on condition that,
absent consent of the other side, the positions of the other side or agreed
text is not included in that disclosure.
·
Second, while the negotiating
documents are confidential, both
sides may mail, e-mail, fax, or discuss the documents over unsecured
lines with the groups of people mentioned above (i.e., government officials and persons who participate in the
domestic consultation process). Both sides also may store the documents in a locked file
cabinet or within a secured building; that is, the documents do not need to be
stored in a safe. Both sides also can create and
store these documents on unclassified computer systems.
·
Lastly, both sides will mark the documents they create in
a manner that makes clear that the documents will be held in
confidence. To that end, the United
States will use the following marking: “KORUS Confidential Information –
Modified Handling Authorized”. Korea will mark documents in accordance with its
legislation.
The policy underlying this approach is to
maintain the confidentiality of documents, while at the same time allowing both sides to develop their
positions, communicate internally and with each other, and engage with their
public as they consider appropriate in developing and communicating their own
positions. Maintaining confidentiality
will promote robust discussion and limit any adverse impact disclosure may have
on future and ongoing negotiations with other countries. We
look forward to your confirmation that you agree with this approach.”
I confirm
that we agree with this approach.
Sincerely,
Yoo Myung-hee
Director General of Trade Policy Bureau
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