Semiconductor Industry Association Applauds Launching U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement; Agreement Has Potential to Eliminate Trade Barriers
Business Wire, USA
Semiconductor Industry Association Applauds Launching U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement; Agreement Has Potential to Eliminate Trade Barriers
2 February 2006
SAN JOSE, Calif. —(Business Wire)— Feb. 2, 2006 — The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today applauded United States Trade Representative Rob Portman for initiating talks with Korea on a Free Trade Agreement.
"Korea is a significant market for American semiconductor producers — in 2005, the Korean semiconductor market was approximately $4.5 billion," said SIA President George Scalise. "Estimates show that growth in the Korean semiconductor market will outpace growth in the rest of the world over the next four years, adding to the potential benefits this agreement could yield," Scalise continued. A free trade agreement also has the potential to increase sales of a broad range of information technology products that utilize semiconductors.
Free trade agreements can address a number of areas that are of importance to the U.S. semiconductor industry, including tariff and non-tariff barriers, standards, customs procedures, transparency, intellectual property protection, and targeted support for specific industries, among others.
"Almost three quarters of our manufacturing capacity is in the U.S., while less than a third of our sales are in this country. U.S. semiconductor producers are the most competitive in the world — when SIA’s members are allowed to compete unencumbered by barriers to trade they succeed. I applaud Ambassador Portman’s efforts to ensure that U.S. semiconductor makers are able to compete in all world markets," said Scalise.
About the SIA
The SIA is the leading voice for the semiconductor industry and has represented U.S. semiconductor companies since 1977. Collectively, the chip industry employs a domestic workforce of 225,000 people. More information about the SIA can be found at www.sia-online.org.
