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November 09, 2009
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| A bipartisan group of congressmen has urged U.S. President Barack Obama to expedite the process for the ratification of a free trade deal with Korea pending for more than two years. In a letter submitted to Obama Friday ahead of the U.S. President’s visit to Seoul later this month, Adam Smith (D-Washington) and 87 other congressmen said, “We urge you to prepare the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement for congressional consideration.” Among the other congressmen are 43 Democrats and 44 Republicans, including Ike Skelton (D-Missouri), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Dave Reichert (R-Washington) and Joseph Crowley (D-New York). They recognized that “there are still some concerns with the agreement” and urged Obama to “engage with Korea to resolve these matters.” The automotive and beef industries have been major hurdles to congressional approval of the Korus FTA. U.S. officials have said they favor side agreements to address the issues rather than revising the text of the deal itself. Many Democrats are concerned that giving the deal a final nod would draw a backlash from trade unions - a political power base for the party - as fears mount over job losses amid the country’s worst recession in decades. The Obama administration is also focused on other priorities such as health care reform and the war in Afghanistan. Jeffrey Bader, senior director for East Asian affairs at the National Security Council, said Friday that Obama needs to take political consideration in submitting the deal to Congress for approval. “We want to ensure that the Korea FTA does provide access for U.S. automobiles to the Korean market,” he said. “But the timing of when this can be done and what is politically seizable are very political.” U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Thursday that his office was “developing proposals that will enable us to address concerns with respect to automotive trade.” “All we are asking for is for our own auto companies to be able to compete on a level playing field in the Korean market,” he said. “We are also looking at concerns with respect to agricultural products more broadly to see how they can be addressed most effectively.” In the letter, the congressmen noted the benefits from the Korea FTA’s ratification. “South Korea is the world’s 14th largest economy and is already our seventh largest trading partner,” they said. “Korus is the most economically beneficial trade agreement the United States has negotiated in 15 years.” The Korea FTA is the largest for the U.S. since the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect in 1994. “Furthermore, preparing Korus for Congressional consideration would continue our partnership with a democratic ally that has a strong record on labor rights and environmental protection,” they said. “Moreover, Korus can be an important part of the administration’s effort to reengage Asia.” The deal will also help “enhance our strategic alliance” with South Korea, they said. Korea recently initialed a similar free trade deal with the European Union. Yonhap |
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