U.S. business leader urges quick approval of KORUS FTA

SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. business leader urged Congress and South
Korea's parliament on Thursday to ratify a bilateral free trade deal as soon as
possible to help overcome their economic difficulties.
South Korea and the U.S. signed a free trade agreement, known as the KORUS FTA,
in June 2007, which has yet to win legislative approval in either nations. U.S.
President-Elect Barack Obama opposes the deal as drafted, while South Korean
opposition parties have demanded more measures to protect the farming sector.
"It would be an historic leap forward in commercial relations between Korea and
the U.S.," Thomas Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a
luncheon meeting here with reporters. "Both nations must overcome political
hurdles to get this deal done."
Donohue said the U.S. business group will continue to press Congress and educate
the American people on how this agreement will create new economic growth, jobs
and opportunities.
His remarks come one day after South Korea said a free trade agreement with the
U.S. should remain intact, in anticipation of a potential call by the Obama
administration to revise the deal.
The accord is the largest for the U.S. since the North American Free Trade
Agreement with Canada and Mexico and the biggest ever for South Korea.
On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton also proposed
renegotiation of the free trade deal, citing an imbalance in auto trade and
restrictions in beef shipments.
"If the South Koreans are willing to re-engage negotiations on these vital
provisions of the agreement, we will work with them to get to resolution,"
Clinton said in a written answer submitted to the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee as part of her high-profile confirmation hearing.
Obama, a Democrat, has said he is in favor of free trade that benefits the United
States, but has strongly criticized the deal with South Korea, saying it does not
adequately address an imbalance in auto trade.
South Korea sold more than 700,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2007, 100 times the
number of American cars it imported, according to an industry tally.
Under the free trade deal, the two sides agreed to cut and phase out tariffs on
autos, while South Korea committed to changing its tax system for larger
vehicles, which the U.S. claimed was discriminatory.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is hoping that the free trade agreement will
help bolster exports and minimize a forecasted contraction in Asia's
fourth-largest economy, which grew at the slowest pace in four years in the third
quarter of last year.
The accord, if ratified, will knock down tariff and non-tariff barriers between
the two economies, which did US$78.4 billion in two-way trade in 2007.
sam@yna.co.kr
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