USTR seeks public comments on KORUS FTA to assess viability

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, July 28 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. Trade Representative is seeking public
comments to assess the viability of a pending free trade deal with South Korea
amid growing protectionism in the Democratic Congress and the worst recession in
decades.

The USTR filed the request at the Federal Register Monday, saying it is
"assessing how and to what extent the free trade agreement between the United
States and the Republic of Korea signed on June 30, 2007, makes progress in
achieving the applicable purposes, policies, priorities and objectives of the
Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002 as set out in section 2102 of
the TPA Act and carries out the provisions of the May 10, 2007, Congressional
Exchange Agreement on Trade Policy."
The public notice also said that the Interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee
"seeks public comment to assist the USTR in its assessment," asking for written
comments to be submitted by noon on Sept. 15, 2009.
Comments may also be submitted electronically via the Internet at
http://www.regulations.gov.
The KORUS FTA was signed in June 2007, but has yet to be approved by the
Democratic Congress as it is focused on health-care reform and economic measures
to cope with the global economic crisis, making it lukewarm on the passage of
three pending trade deals, including those with Panama and Colombia.
Concerns linger over a possible backlash from labor unions, the Democratic
political power base, which fears job losses stemming from the passage of three
more FTAs.
Since 2001, the United States has entered into free trade agreements with 14
countries.
Earlier in the day, South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon was upbeat about
the Korea FTA's ratification by Congress.
"It is not a matter of yes or no," he said in a forum in Seoul. "I would say it
is just a matter of time."
Ron Kirk, the top U.S. trade negotiator, said earlier this month that the U.S. is
willing to enforce trade agreements with foreign governments to help revive the
struggling U.S. economy.
"I can tell you with no reservations: the Obama administration is both willing
and able to enforce our trade agreements," he said at the time.
Kirk also discussed the merits of the FTA with South Korea, the seventh-biggest
trading partner of the U.S.
"In 2008, exports generated nearly $2 trillion in income for American workers,
farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and producers ... that's about one in every
eight dollars Americans earned last year," he said. "Exports of manufactured
goods support 6 million American jobs. Millions more high-quality jobs depend in
part, or entirely, upon trade in services and American intellectual property."
Kirk did not specifically mention the KORUS FTA, but Myron Brilliant, U.S.
Chamber of Commerce senior vice president for international affairs, followed up
with a statement calling for the "passage of the market-opening trade agreements
with Panama, Colombia, and Korea."
"The U.S. Chamber agrees with Ambassador Kirk that trade agreements mean nothing
if they aren't enforced," Brilliant said. "The jobs of millions of American
workers, farmers, and companies depend on access to foreign markets, and vigorous
enforcement of trade agreements is critical to ensuring that access."
While meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Washington last month,
U.S. President Barack Obama said he will seek the appropriate "political timing"
for submission of the KORUS FTA to Congress "once we have resolved some of the
substantive issues."
Obama was referring to an imbalance in auto trade and restricted shipments of beef.
"In Korea, there are issues of beef imports," he said. "In the United States,
there are questions about whether there's sufficient reciprocity with respect to
cars. These are all understandable, legitimate issues for negotiation."
Lee, on his part, said he "welcomed the initiation of working-level
consultations, to make progress on the issues surrounding the agreement," noting
that both sides "agreed to make joint efforts to chart a way forward on the
deal."
U.S. officials have said they favor side agreements to address the auto and beef
issues without revising the text of the trade deal itself.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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