Parliamentary committee approves FTA with U.S. for plenary voting

SEOUL, April 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's parliamentary committee on Wednesday
passed a bill to ratify the government's free trade agreement with the United
States, sending it to a plenary session for final approval.

The endorsement by the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification
Committee, however, came amid protests from opposition lawmakers who claim the
move is premature and that Seoul should wait until Washington becomes more
favorable toward the agreement.
Seoul and Washington signed the free trade deal in June 2007, but its
ratification has been delayed by opposition in both countries. It must be
ratified by legislative bodies of both countries to take effect.
The FTA will knock down tariff and non-tariff barriers between the two economies,
whose two-way trade reached US$84.7 billion in 2008, according to the Korea
International Trade Association.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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