U.S. to address beef, auto issues before Korea FTA ratification: deputy USTR nominee

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, April 30 (Yonhap) -- The nominee for U.S. deputy Trade Representative
said Thursday that he will prioritize addressing an imbalance in auto trade and
restrictions on beef shipment to South Korea before ratification of a pending
free trade deal.

"There are some key concerns that we still have to address, including on beef as
well as autos," Demetrios Marantis, the nominee for the deputy U.S. Trade
Representative, told a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing.
"On beef, it's very important that this government is very vigilant with respect
to sanitary barriers that are not based on science," he said. "And having worked
on this issue for a number of years, I can reassure you that at USTR, if I am
confirmed, this will be a major priority of mine. The U.S.-Korea Free Trade
Agreement offers enormous potential benefits to the U.S. economy."
Marantis was repeating the remarks made by USTR Ron Kirk recently that he will
seek "new solutions" to the pending FTA with South Korea before bringing it to
Congress for ratification.
Kirk said last month that he will "promptly, but effectively" address the
imbalance in auto trade and South Korea's ban on shipments of beef from cattle
older than 30 months, with priority placed on beef.
Obama has taken issue with what he has called lopsided 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.
U.S. officials and experts have talked about "creative ways" of avoiding
renegotiation of the Korea FTA, signed in 2007, by way of side agreements on the
sensitive auto and beef issues.
Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Barack Obama early this month "agreed that the
U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement could bring benefits to both countries" and
committed to working together to chart a way forward.
South Korean and U.S. officials are to meet in Washington soon to follow up on
the summit, the first between the two leaders, and discuss congressional approval
of the Korea FTA ahead of Lee's U.S. visit in June.
South Korea's National Assembly foreign affairs and trade committee has approved
the FTA with the U.S. in a prelude to possible ratification by the plenary
parliamentary session in June.
South Korean officials have said they would not renegotiate it, and hope that the
upcoming Lee-Obama summit will make a breakthrough on the auto and beef issues.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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