U.S. urges patience in ratification of KORUS FTA

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- The United States Wednesday called on South Korea
to remain patient in the ratification of a pending free trade deal between the
two countries, citing the need to address other pressing issues including health
care reform.

"I would just simply say, yes please have patience," Kurt Campbell, assistant
secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, told a group of South
Korean correspondents here. "Put it in a larger context. We are doing many other
things that could not be more supportive of South Korea. So we ask you to take
that into consideration."
Campbell also referred to the victory of Republican Scott Brown in a special
election in the eastern state of Massachusetts last week that broke the
Democrats' filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the Senate, jeopardizing Obama's
health care reform, economic stimulus measures and other key issues.
"Last week's election in Massachusetts changes many things," Campbell said.
"Calculations on domestic politics widen. It is still too early to say what this
means over the course of the next couple of weeks. We will need probably a little
more time to reflect on some of the implications of the recent election in
Massachusetts."
South Korean officials and analysts have expressed hope that the passage of
health care reform in the U.S. will pave the way for early congressional approval
of the Korea FTA.
South Korea is pressing Obama to submit the pact by this summer, fearing that
failure to do so could push ratification to 2011 or later, after the mid-term
elections in November.
Campbell would not elaborate on the timeline of the FTA's ratification.
"(U.S. Trade Representative) Ambassador Kirk understands very clearly the
importance of this and has talked a little bit about what the timing might look
like later in the year," he said.
U.S. officials have said they want to address concerns about imbalances in auto
trade and beef exports in side agreements without revising the text of the deal,
signed in 2007.
Campbell reiterated the U.S. commitment to ratifying the Korea FTA.
"All I would tell you is the determination and the statements made by the U.S.
side about their desire to move forward remain unchanged," he said. "Ultimately,
I am quite confident, and I know there will be a process put in place. The timing
of it... we'll have to wait and see."
The official said the Obama administration is currently focusing on economic
recovery.
"One of the points the Presient and the senior economic team tried to make is the
unprecedented level of the economic challenge the United States faces right now,"
he said. "It's very real. This is an enormously challenging time for the Untied
States."
He said, however, that Obama was impressed by South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak when they met in Seoul in November.
Lee and other South Korean officials have asserted that the FTA's implementation
will help boost both the U.S. economy as well as South Korea's.
Independent studies show the implementation of the FTA with Korea, the seventh
biggest trading partner for the U.S., will create 240,000 jobs and increase
annual two-way trade by more than US$20 billion from the current $83 billion.
"One of the points Lee Myung-bak made was... China's trade imbalance with the
United States is not in the same, nowhere near... the healthy trade balance in
relations between the United Sates and South Korea," Campbell said. "He wants to
be viewed in that context. I think that's an appropriate point to make. The
president and the senior team came away very much impressed by such remarks."
Obama said in Seoul that he is ready to deal with South Korea separately from
other Asian countries, such as China, which has been accumulating a huge surplus
in trade with the U.S.
"Those imbalances are not as prominent with Korea," Obama said.
Obama also said he was pleased to have more tools to persuade Congress, Seoul
officials said, adding Lee told Obama that South Korea's trade surplus with the
U.S. was around $8 billion, far less than that of China and Japan, and that the
U.S. deficit is easily neutralized once the U.S. financial surplus with South
Korea is included.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)

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