US, SKorea to address free trade pact concerns
15 May 2009
US, SKorea to address free trade pact concerns
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States and South Korea will work to address each nation’s concerns over a long-delayed free trade agreement, the US administration’s top trade official said Thursday.
The fate of the free-trade deal remained in limbo after high-level talks in Washington between the top trade officials of both countries.
US Trade Representative Ron Kirk held his first meeting with South Korea’s Trade Minister Kim Jong-Hoon in Washington to discuss the agreement signed between the two allies in 2007 but awaiting ratification by their legislatures.
President Barack Obama’s administration had demanded greater access to the South Korean market for US autos and beef in a bid to push ahead with the pact, the largest for the United States since it signed the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico in 1994.
"I brought Minister Kim up to date on our review of the FTA and how we plan to consult with Congress and stakeholders regarding their concerns," Kirk said after the talks at his office.
"I look forward to working closely with the minister to address such concerns, while also taking into account Korea’s interests, so that we can best determine how to move this important agreement forward," he said in a statement.
The Obama administration is carrying out a thorough review of the agreement formulated during President George W. Bush’s term and will be consulting "extensively" with Congress and other stakeholders, officials said.
It was "to understand fully the exact nature of those concerns and how they can be addressed, so that the agreement can be submitted for congressional approval."
Kirk appeared to be more positive about the pact compared with two months ago, when he called it "unfair".
Ahead of his election in November, Obama has called the deal "badly flawed," saying it did too little to narrow a huge trade imbalance in South Korea’s favor, especially in the auto trade.
"The president has said, and I agree, the agreement, as it is, just simply isn’t fair and if we don’t get that right, we’ll be prepared to step away from that," Kirk said at his confirmation hearing before the US Senate in March.
South Korea has ruled out renegotiating the pact but argued that free trade was the quickest way out of the current global economic crisis.
A key parliamentary committee in Seoul approved the deal last month but the opposition says it is too early for ratification.
Calling South Korea "a crucial ally" of the United States and an "important trading partner," Kirk agreed Thursday that the pact could bring "significant economic and strategic benefits to both countries, while demonstrating the US commitment to expanding our economic engagement and leadership in Asia."
US-South Korea trade in goods reached 83 billion dollars in 2008.
The US International Trade Commission estimates that implementation of the FTA would increase annual US goods exports to South Korea by 10-11 billion dollars.
