Obama to work carefully with Congress for Korea FTA's ratification: Geithner

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, March 3 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will work carefully
with Congress toward the ratification of the pending free trade agreements with
South Korea, Colombia and Panama, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said
Tuesday.
"What you can expect is the president and the administration will work carefully
with the Congress to find a way to move forward on those important agreements,"
Geithner told the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee. "It's so
important to our country that we sustain a commitment not just to keep our
markets open, but that we can find new trade agreements that can benefit American
businesses and the American worker."
The remarks are in line with a U.S. Trade Representative's policy report,
released Monday, saying the Obama administration "will promptly, but responsibly,
address the issues surrounding the Colombia, Korea and Panama Free Trade
Agreements."
The agenda also said the new U.S. administration will advance the Panama FTA
before moving to the pacts with Colombia and South Korea, unlike the former Bush
administration which focused first on the Colombia FTA despite concerns over
alleged labor violence there. Colombian goods enjoy tariff exemptions in the U.S.
market without reciprocity.
A congressional hearing was scheduled for Monday to approve U.S. Trade
Representative nominee Ron Kirk, former mayor of Dallas, who will play a pivotal
role in the Obama administration's handling of the pending FTAs.
The agenda, the first of its kind since Obama's inauguration in January, comes
after a group of U.S. congressmen, including Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Friday urged
Obama to "engage aggressively in trade and that includes trade agreements" and
move quickly to present the pending free trade agreements as a way to help revive
the slumping U.S. economy.
Obama has been distancing himself from the FTAs amid fears in the Democratic
Congress that they will undercut jobs in the worst recession in decades.
South Korea's National Assembly is also delaying deliberations on the Korea-U.S.
FTA, citing growing protectionist sentiments in the U.S.
Obama has opposed ratification of what he called a "badly flawed" free trade
agreement with South Korea, citing an imbalance in auto trade. South Korea
disputes the figures, choosing to include autos produced by Hyundai in Alabama.
At a Senate confirmation hearing last month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
proposed that South Korea "re-engage negotiations on these vital provisions of
the agreement," urging Seoul to provide "genuine improvements" in the auto and
beef markets.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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