U.S. lawmaker says FTA approval impossible this year
Yonhap News
U.S. lawmaker says FTA approval impossible this year
4 March 2008
WASHINGTON, March 4 (Yonhap) — A senior U.S. Democrat lawmaker said Tuesday the free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea has no chance of passing the Congress this year, a contention strongly disputed by the South Korean ambassador to the U.S. who said he was confident Seoul can garner enough votes.
Rep. Jim Moran (D-Virginia) cited political reasons, coupled with fears of an economic recession, for why the Congress would not support the FTA.
"I don’t see it happening," he said at an evening forum with Korean-American community leaders. "I will be shocked if it happens this year."
Moran is a ninth-term legislator and a co-founder of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of some 75 centrist House Democrats.
The congressman said he was undecided on whether to support the trade deal and demanded changes to the negotiated agreement.
"Those of who are undecided, they have the ability to fashion a trade agreement that will pass," he said. "So it gives us a little more leverage, frankly, to be able to do that."
South Korea’s ambassador to Washington, Lee Tae-sik, flatly disagreed with the congressman.
"Yes, political circumstances and political climate are not working favorably," he said, speaking after Moran.
"And yet, I don’t believe this is entirely impossible for this year," he said. "Why?...The economic stakes are too high if we cannot get it done this year."
The goal is to secure 230 votes in Congress while the required majority is 218, the ambassador said. With the 160 Republicans in support of the FTA, South Korea needs 70 votes from Democrats, a number he said that can be won.
"In my view, even though the political climate is very much negatively working to our endeavor, at the end of the day, we can garner enough votes," said Lee.
South Korea and the U.S. signed the trade accord in June, a year after the negotiations began. They worked against a deadline to have the deal covered under the U.S. trade promotion authority, temporary legislation that requires Congress to vote up or down on FTAs negotiated by the government.
Supporters outnumber opponents in South Korea, who in September submitted the agreement for National Assembly ratification. The government hopes to complete ratification by the end of May, when the current legislature steps down.
The situation in the U.S. is less certain due to the upcoming presidential election. Democrats are traditionally opposed to free trade, and after winning the general elections in November 2006, the overall mood turned negative toward FTAs.
The argument for the FTA is being made not only economically but politically. The South Korea deal is the first for the U.S. with an Asian nation and is described by proponents as a strong signal of U.S. commitment to engage the region.
