USTR gets over 500 public comments on Korea, Colombia FTAs: Kirk

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- The United States Trade Representative Office
has received more than 500 public comments on the pending free trade agreements
with South Korea and Colombia, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Tuesday.

"I am very pleased by the strong response to our request for public comment on
these important agreements," Kirk said in a statement posted on the USTR Web
site. "This request reflects the Administration's emphasis on providing
transparency and creating an open dialogue on trade issues. We will carefully
review the comments received to help us determine how best to move forward with
these FTAs."
The chief U.S. trade official declined to characterize the comments, saying only,
"USTR will closely study the public submissions, which will inform continuing
discussions with the U.S. Congress, stakeholders and the relevant trading
partners regarding the pending FTAs."
The USTR filed the request for the comments in late July 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 deadline was noon
Tuesday.
"In its ongoing effort to identify and resolve outstanding issues related to the
pending free trade agreements, USTR sought comments on stakeholders' views of the
costs and benefits of the FTAs, how well they accomplished the objectives of the
2002 Trade Promotion Authority Act, and what concerns they may have with the
agreements," Kirk said.
The TPA Act calls for Congress to vote either for or against any trade agreements
without an amendment.
The gathering of comments is part of the Obama administration's efforts to "make
transparency one of the cornerstones of U.S. trade policy," Kirk said.
South Korean and the U.S. lawmakers have not yet ratified the trade deal, the
biggest for the U.S. since the North American Free Trade Agreement of 1992.
Contributing factors are the protectionist atmosphere in the Democratic Congress
and the global economic crisis that began late last year.
At issue are an imbalance in auto trade as U.S. automakers struggle to survive
the recession, and restricted shipments of U.S. beef.
U.S. President Barack Obama has expressed concerns about the auto and beef
issues, but recently agreed with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to make
efforts to "chart a way forward."
While meeting with Lee in June, Obama also 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."
Officials in both Korea and the U.S. have said they favor side agreements to
address thorny issues, rather than revising the text of the deal itself.
U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens said Monday that she could not
"predict a timeframe" for the FTA's ratification, but expressed hope the two
sides will "come up with a way forward."
The Korea FTA was signed in June 2007. Since 2001, the U.S. has entered into free
trade agreements with 14 countries.
South Korea is the seventh-largest trading partner of the U.S., with trade in
goods reaching US$83 billion in 2008, and trade in services reaching $19 billion
in 2007, according to statistics from the USTR.
"If approved, the agreement would be the United States' most commercially
significant free trade agreement in more than 16 years," The USTR said. "The U.S.
International Trade Commission estimates that the reduction of Korean tariffs and
tariff-rate quotas on goods alone would add $10 billion to $12 billion to annual
U.S. GDP and around $10 billion to U.S. annual goods exports to Korea."
hdh@yna.co.kr
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