Kirk pledges to work with S. Korea for FTA's ratification

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, March 9 (Yonhap) -- The Barack Obama administration will work with
relevant countries for congressional ratification of pending free trade
agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, U.S. Trade Representative
nominee Ron Kirk said Monday.

In a Senate Finance Committee hearing to consider his nomination, Kirk, however,
said that the Obama administration will not sacrifice labor and environmental
values in pursuing trade deals to help promote economic recovery from the worst
recession in decades.
"Other priorities include working with our trading partners to advance the Doha
round negotiations, working with you and the countries in question on pending
agreements, and pursuing new initiatives that will seek to channel trade as a
driver of economic progress if they are done right," said the former first black
mayor of Dallas.
Doha refers to stalled efforts by members of the World Trade Organization to
reduce trade barriers, with ministers first meeting in the capital of Qatar in
2001.
Kirk's remarks are in line with a U.S. Trade Representative's policy report,
released last week, saying the Obama administration "will promptly, but
responsibly, address the issues surrounding the Colombia, Korea and Panama Free
Trade Agreements."
Obama has opposed ratification of what he called a "badly flawed" free trade
agreement with South Korea due to an imbalance in auto trade, although South
Korea disputes the U.S. figures, which include hundreds of thousands of autos
produced by Hyundai Motor's plant in Alabama.
South Korea's National Assembly is also delaying deliberations on the Korea-U.S.
FTA, citing growing protectionist sentiments in the Democratic U.S. Congress in
the wake of the deepening global economic woes.
The USTR-designate emphasized the need "to ensure strong enforcement of the
rules," saying, "The president and I believe that our mission is not simply to
increase American exports, as important as that is, but to ensure that the way we
promote trade reflects our country's values about economic progress and justice,
including through the advancement of internationally recognized labor and
environmental standards."
Citing alleged labor violence in Colombia, the USTR's policy agenda has said that
the Obama administration will give priority to the Panama FTA before moving to
the pacts with Colombia and South Korea. In contrast, the former Bush
administration focused first on the Colombia FTA, in the order of signing.
Colombian goods enjoy tariff exemptions in the U.S. market without reciprocity.
South Korean officials say they have no problem with labor and environmental
standards often cited by U.S. congressional Democrats as a possible hurdle to
early congressional approval.
Kirk, meanwhile, said the Obama government will seek fast-track authority to
facilitate negotiations of trade deals, an authority that was suspended in 2007
by the Democratic-controlled Congress.
The Korea FTA was negotiated under the fast-track authority in which Congress
either approves or rejects it without amendments.
On the pending FTAs, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said last week that
the Obama administration "will work carefully with the Congress to find a way to
move forward on those important agreements."
"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," Geithner told the House of
Representatives Ways and Means Committee.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)