Obama urged to submit Korea FTA to Congress next spring

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korean ambassador to the U.S. Han Duck-soo
urged the Barack Obama administration Monday to submit to Congress the pending
free trade agreement (FTA) with Korea early next year.
"I hope the Obama administration will complete the health care reform this fall
and pursue the Korea FTA's ratification as the top priority task next spring,"
Han told a forum in Dallas, according to a transcript released here. "Otherwise,
the FTA's ratification might be delayed to after the mid-term elections in
November in 2010."
South Korean and U.S. lawmakers have not yet ratified the KORUS FTA, signed in
2007, the largest for the U.S. since the North American Free Trade Agreement that
went into effect in 1994.
Congressional Democrats are concerned about a backlash from trade unions, a
political power base for the party, as fears mount over possible job cuts amid
the worst recession in decades.
U.S. officials have expressed concerns about an imbalance in auto trade and
restricted shipments of U.S. beef, saying they favor side agreements to address
the issues rather than revising the text of the deal itself.
Wendy Cutler, assistant U.S. Trade Representative, said earlier this month that
the Obama administration will try to address an imbalance in auto trade before
presenting the FTA with South Korea to Congress.
"It's apparent that more can be done and should be done in the automotive sector
to help level the playing field for U.S. companies and workers in this important
sector," Cutler said.
Han, for his part, said the FTA's ratification will serve as an economic stimulus
for the U.S.
"We need a bolder and creative resolution because we are running out of time and
opportunities," he said, claiming that the FTA's approval will create 240,000 new
jobs for the U.S. and increase U.S. gross domestic product by up to US$11
billion.
Citing statistics from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, he said failure to ratify
the FTA will result in a loss of 382,000 jobs and $44.8 billion in national
output.
U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens said last month 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."
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.
While meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in June, Obama agreed to
make efforts to "chart a way forward," and said he will seek the appropriate
"political timing" for the submission of the KORUS FTA to Congress "once we have
resolved some of the substantive issues."
hdh@yna.co.kr
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