Obama pledges to press for Korea FTA's ratification this year

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday that he
will push for congressional approval of the pending free trade agreement with
South Korea this year to help create jobs through export growth.

In an interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek, posted on its Web site, Obama said
he "would press for passage this year of free-trade agreements with South Korea,
Panama and Colombia."
Obama, however, cautioned that "different glitches" must first be negotiated with
each country, according to the magazine.
The U.S. president was apparently referring to the imbalance in auto trade and
the restricted shipments of U.S. beef to South Korea, the biggest hurdle to the
early ratification of the Korea FTA, signed in 2007.
U.S. officials have said they want to address those concerns in side agreements
without revising the text of the deal.
South Korea has urged the Obama administration to present the pact to Congress by
this summer, fearing any further delay may jeopardize its passage this year due
to the politically sensitive mid-term elections in November.
The Korea FTA has been sidelined by health care, financial reform and other more
pressing issues, and Obama has said he will seek the right "political timing" for
its submission amid protectionist sentiment in Congress in the worst recession in
decades.
Obama's remarks on the Korea FTA's possible ratification this year come against a
changing political landscape, with the Democratic Party feeling the pinch from
two-digit unemployment and a delayed economic recovery.
A recent public survey said that the Republican Party is now more popular, with a
48 percent approval rating, than the Democratic Party, with 45 percent, heralding
another possible setback for Democrats in the November elections. An upset
victory by Scott Brown in Massachusetts last month broke the Democrats'
filibuster-proof super majority in the Senate.
Meanwhile, Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY) and 30 other Democratic congressmen sent a
letter to Obama last week urging him to move quickly to ratify the pending free
trade deals, fearing any further delay might hurt the competitiveness of American
products abroad.
In his first State of the Union address last month, Obama pledged to enhance
trade with South Korea, Colombia and Panama to help fuel the fledgling economic
recovery.
"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 and India put a free trade deal into effect last month, and Seoul
hopes to ratify another deal with the European Union, signed last year, that will
take effect this coming summer.
Obama also said in the interview that he and his administration have pursued a
"fundamentally business-friendly" agenda and are "fierce advocates" for the free
market.
"The irony is, is that on the left we are perceived as being in the pockets of
big business; and then on the business side, we are perceived as being
anti-business," Obama said, noting the auto bailout program, which he described
as a "very politically unpopular decision that was made that, from my vantage
point, is pro-business."
Obama also said he will continue pressing China for the revaluation of its
currency to help boost American exports.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)

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