The U.S. Trade Representative said Friday... that South Korea was in non-compliance of the two countries' bilateral trade agreement,... and demanded its first-ever consultations under the deal. <br /> The USTR requested the talks... claiming that the Korea Fair Trade Commission had denied certain rights to U.S. parties,... including the opportunity to review and rebut evidence to defend themselves.<br />The announcement did not specify the companies,... but Korean industry sources say it may be referring to U.S. IT companies like Qualcomm.<br />In 2016, the Korea Fair Trade Commission fined Qualcomm over 9-hundred million U.S. dollars for violating local antitrust laws. <br />Korea's trade ministry said domestic competition-related laws are in line with the trade agreement... and said it will explain Korea's stance to the U.S. during the consultation process. <br /><br />
