FTA to top agenda when Obama comes to Seoul: U.S. expert

By Tony Chang
SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Yonhap) -- A pending bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) will
likely top the agenda during U.S. President Barack Obama's summit with his South
Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak later this month, a former White House official
said Thursday, adding talks will set the tone for Washington's broader trade
policy.
The South Korea-U.S. accord, known as the KORUS FTA, was signed in June 2007, but
its ratification in both countries has been stymied by disagreements on auto and
beef trade.
Obama is scheduled to embark on his first Asia trip later this month. He will
arrive in Seoul on Nov. 18 for a two-day stay after attending the annual Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore on Nov. 13-15.
Speaking at a seminar in Seoul, Victor Cha, former director for Asian affairs at
the National Security Council, said Seoul's FTA with the European Union, talks of
a trilateral FTA with Tokyo and Beijing and South Korea's hosting of the G-20
summit next year are putting pressure on Washington.
"Basically, I think these things got the administration thinking, by November
2010, they have to have a clear game plan, not just in place, but in
implementation, on the KORUS FTA. Otherwise, you can't come to the G-20 a year
from now without that," said Cha.
U.S. 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.
Washington has been hinting at a possible renegotiation, citing an imbalance in
auto trade between the two sides, while Seoul has reiterated that it will not
revise the text of the deal itself and instead address the concerns via side
agreements.
Cha, now director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University, said the
Seoul-Washington FTA is virtually a "prototype" for potential FTAs in the region.

"If you look at the EU-Korea FTA, it looks remarkably like the KORUS FTA. That is
speaking to how important and significant the KORUS FTA was," he said.
"If we can't pass this (FTA), it's going to say a lot about the U.S. position in
Asia, vis-a-vis China ... there is a lot more riding on, I think, this FTA than
simply (the issue of bilateral) alliance," Cha said.
He stressed that the FTA is a "big game changer" in the relationship of the two
country, saying it will pave a way for a shift in the relationship from "the Cold
War-identity" to something "more permanent and much more normative-based, not
just based on threats."
On the North Korean nuclear issue, Cha noted that neither Washington or Pyongyang
appear to be in "any rush" to reach a breakthrough in the stalled talks, which
could lead to denuclearization talks losing momentum and remaining adrift.
"If neither side is really going to make any extra effort to reengage in
negotiations, essentially that means North Korea's position as a nuclear weapons
state becomes more consolidated," Cha said.
U.S. alliances with countries in Northeast Asia will have to ultimately readjust
to the new reality if current deadlock of the nuclear talks continues, he said.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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