1.      The Korean government held the third round of negotiations concerning the imposition of customs 
duties on rice with China in Beijing on August 20, 2004.  The Korean delegation was headed by Mr. Lee 
Jae-gil, Ambassador for DDA Negotiations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), and 
consisting of officials from relevant government agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the 
Ministry of Finance and Economy, etc.

-          The Chinese delegation was headed by Mr. Zhang Xiangchen, Deputy Director-General at the 
Department of WTO Affairs at the Ministry of Commerce, and consisted of officials from the Ministry of 
Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of 
Agriculture.

2.      At this meeting, the two sides have discussed major issues such as the extension period for the 
deferment of customs imposition, the level of increase in tariff rate quotas (TRQ) in detail, but realized that 
there was a substantial difference in each other’s positions and have decided to continue negotiations with 
this point in mind.

3.      Korea and China will be holding the next round of negotiations in September, and have yet not settled 
on a location.

                                                                    Spokesperson for MOFAT

 
* unofficial Translation