USTR nominee calls for renegotiation of Korea-FTA

(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES with more details, background throughout)
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, March 9 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Trade Representative nominee Ron Kirk Monday
called for renegotiation of the pending free trade deal with South Korea which he
depicted as unacceptable as currently written.

"In the case of Korea, the current -- the status quo simply isn't acceptable,"
Kirk told a Senate Finance Committee hearing to consider his nomination. "The
president has said, and I agree, the agreement as it is just simply isn't fair."
He was repeating Obama's position expressed in the election campaign last year
that he will not approve the Korea FTA "as it stands."
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.
"And if we don't get that right, we'll be prepared to step away from that," Kirk
said. "But I believe Korea also presents one of the biggest economic
opportunities we have of all of the bilateral agreements out there, but we want
to make sure that we get that right."
Another thorny issue is beef.
"Korea must find a way to accept all American beef from cattle of all ages. Then,
properly, I believe that the United States-Korea trade agreement could serve as a
cornerstone of a broader economic agenda that embraces the dynamism of Asia,"
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana) told the hearing.
Seoul and Washington agreed to limit shipments of beef to those from cattle less
than 30 months old, after the resumption of U.S. beef imports caused a public
outcry in South Korea last summer on health concerns. Cows younger than 30 months
old are less susceptible to mad cow disease, a case of which occurred in the U.S.
in 2003, leading to suspension of shipments to South Korea and other countries.
U.S. beef regained its status as the biggest selling product in South Korea
against Korean and Australian beef just months after full scale imports began
again late last year.
The chief U.S. trade negotiator-designate also said that he will work with
relevant countries for congressional ratification of pending free trade
agreements with Colombia and Panama,
"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," he said.
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."
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.
Kirk, who was the first black mayor of Dallas, also 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, emphasizing the need "to ensure strong enforcement of the rules."
"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," Kirk said.
Kirk said he will prioritize the Panama FTA among the three pending agreements.
"We should start with Panama. That's the agreement that's most ready for action
and it's the agreement that will win the greatest level of support," he said. "We
must find a way to address the real and significant concerns with labor violence
in Colombia."
USTR's policy agenda says 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
the trade pacts were signed. 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
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