bama says Korea FTA's ratification may take several years

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By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama Friday said he will
move for congressional approval of the pending free trade deals with South Korea,
Colombia and Panama, but hinted the process may take several years.

"I will be talking more about trade this year," Obama told a gathering of House
Republicans at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace in Maryland.
The president, however, said it may take years to address problems to secure fair
trade with the countries involved before presenting the deals to Congress for
ratification.
"It's going to have to be trade that combines opening their markets with an
enforcement mechanism, as well as just opening up our markets," he said. "I think
that's something that all of us would agree on. Let's see if we can execute it
over the next several years."
South Korea has been pressing Obama to submit the pact by this summer, fearing
that any further delay may jeopardize the chance of the deal passing through
Congress this year due to the politically sensitive mid-term elections in
November.
U.S. officials have complained about the imbalance in auto trade and the
restricted shipment of U.S. beef, hoping to address such concerns in side
agreements without revising the text of the deal, signed in 2007.
Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis Thursday said the U.S. will
continue to hold discussions with South Korea and Congress to address U.S.
concerns, but added, "We hope to come up with a solution that works, but it will
be hard to do. There is a bad history in the automobile market in Korea, with
practices that have excluded foreign automakers."
On the timing of the ratification, he said, "Substance will drive the timing."
Obama said he basically supports the Korea FTA's ratification in order not to
leave American products less competitive in South Korea, the seventh biggest
market for the U.S.
"What is also true is that the European Union is about to sign a trade agreement
with South Korea; which means right at the moment when they start opening up
their markets, the Europeans might get in there before we do," he said. "So we've
got to make sure that we seize these opportunities."
He also stressed the role of the trade pact in consolidating the alliance with
South Korea.
"South Korea is a great ally of ours," he said. "I mean, when I visited there,
there's no country that is more committed to friendship on a whole range of
fronts than South Korea."
It is the second time in as many days that Obama publicly discussed the Korea FTA.
In his first State of the Union address Wednesday, Obama pledged to enhance trade
with South Korea, Colombia and Panama to help fuel the fledgling economic
recovery from the worst recession in decades, although he did not specify when he
would seek ratification of the pending FTAs.
"We have to seek new markets aggressively, just as our competitors are," Obama
said. "If America sits on the sidelines while other nations sign trade deals, we
will lose the chance to create jobs on our shores. That's why we will continue to
shape a Doha trade agreement that opens global markets, and why we will
strengthen our trade relations in Asia and with key partners like South Korea,
Panama, and Colombia."
South Korea late last year initialed a free trade agreement with the European
Union, and is actively seeking similar pacts with the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, China, Japan, Canada, Colombia and several other countries.
Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs,
Wednesday called for patience, saying, "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."
hdh@yna.co.kr
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