By Kim, Shinhoe
The Obama administration will move for the ratification of the pending free trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama only after resolving outstanding issues involved, the top U.S. trade negotiator said Monday.
"The reality is, each of those agreements had some element of unfinished business that we have been busily working to complete," U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk(pictured) told a forum at the University of Chicago.
"Whether it's Panama, which is critically important to Caterpillar, frankly, and your agricultural interests, or Colombia or South Korea, which could potentially add $10 billion, we're going to try to resolve the outstanding issues so that we can move forward."
Caterpillar, based in Peoria, Illinois, is a leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines.
South Korea wants Obama to move for ratification by this summer due to the political sensitivity of the November mid-term elections.
The U.S. has yet to set a timeline for the ratification of the KORUS Free Trade Agreement, signed in 2007.
Optimists say the recent passage of the health care reform bill, Obama's top domestic policy issue, might help move things along, while pessimists say Obama faces more pressing issues such as immigration and the economy amid protectionist sentiment in the worst recession in decades.
Kirk said last week that Obama "would like to complete at least one of three pending trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama this year," although he declined to say which accord would come first.
The U.S. Trade Representative's office said in a report last week that the Obama administration is trying to find ways to address lopsided auto trade and limited shipments of U.S. beef.
"The Administration ... is committed to working together with Korea to move the KORUS FTA forward," the report said.
"In 2009, the United States Government initiated a thorough review of the FTA and is currently consulting closely with Congress and U.S. stakeholders to identify the most effective approaches for dealing with these concerns. This will involve working through a number of outstanding issues, particularly related to autos and beef."
The report cited estimates by the U.S. International Trade Commission that "the reduction of Korean tariffs and tariff-rate quotas on goods alone would add $10 billion to $12 billion to annual U.S. Gross Domestic Product and around $10 billion to annual merchandise exports to Korea."
The ratification of the deal, "the most commercially significant free trade agreement the United States has concluded in 17 years," would also "provide preferential access for U.S. businesses, farmers, ranchers, services providers, and workers to the United States' 8th largest export market, help solidify the two countries' long-standing alliance, and underscore the U.S. commitment to, and engagement in, the Asia-Pacific region," the report said.
The U.S. goods trade deficit with South Korea was US$10.6 billion in 2009, down $2.8 billion from 2008, according to the report.
After meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul in November, Obama said that he is ready to deal with South Korea separately from other Asian countries, such as China and Japan, which have been accumulating a huge surplus in trade with the U.S.
"Those imbalances are not as prominent with Korea," Obama said at that time.
Lee told Obama that South Korea maintains healthy trade relations with the U.S., compared with China and Japan, and that the U.S. deficit is easily neutralized once the U.S. financial surplus with South Korea is included.
아주경제 김신회 기자 raskol@ajnews.co.kr
[아주경제 ajnews.co.kr] 무단전재 배포금지
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"The reality is, each of those agreements had some element of unfinished business that we have been busily working to complete," U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk(pictured) told a forum at the University of Chicago.
"Whether it's Panama, which is critically important to Caterpillar, frankly, and your agricultural interests, or Colombia or South Korea, which could potentially add $10 billion, we're going to try to resolve the outstanding issues so that we can move forward."
Caterpillar, based in Peoria, Illinois, is a leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines.
South Korea wants Obama to move for ratification by this summer due to the political sensitivity of the November mid-term elections.
The U.S. has yet to set a timeline for the ratification of the KORUS Free Trade Agreement, signed in 2007.
Optimists say the recent passage of the health care reform bill, Obama's top domestic policy issue, might help move things along, while pessimists say Obama faces more pressing issues such as immigration and the economy amid protectionist sentiment in the worst recession in decades.
Kirk said last week that Obama "would like to complete at least one of three pending trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama this year," although he declined to say which accord would come first.
The U.S. Trade Representative's office said in a report last week that the Obama administration is trying to find ways to address lopsided auto trade and limited shipments of U.S. beef.
"The Administration ... is committed to working together with Korea to move the KORUS FTA forward," the report said.
"In 2009, the United States Government initiated a thorough review of the FTA and is currently consulting closely with Congress and U.S. stakeholders to identify the most effective approaches for dealing with these concerns. This will involve working through a number of outstanding issues, particularly related to autos and beef."
The report cited estimates by the U.S. International Trade Commission that "the reduction of Korean tariffs and tariff-rate quotas on goods alone would add $10 billion to $12 billion to annual U.S. Gross Domestic Product and around $10 billion to annual merchandise exports to Korea."
The ratification of the deal, "the most commercially significant free trade agreement the United States has concluded in 17 years," would also "provide preferential access for U.S. businesses, farmers, ranchers, services providers, and workers to the United States' 8th largest export market, help solidify the two countries' long-standing alliance, and underscore the U.S. commitment to, and engagement in, the Asia-Pacific region," the report said.
The U.S. goods trade deficit with South Korea was US$10.6 billion in 2009, down $2.8 billion from 2008, according to the report.
After meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul in November, Obama said that he is ready to deal with South Korea separately from other Asian countries, such as China and Japan, which have been accumulating a huge surplus in trade with the U.S.
"Those imbalances are not as prominent with Korea," Obama said at that time.
Lee told Obama that South Korea maintains healthy trade relations with the U.S., compared with China and Japan, and that the U.S. deficit is easily neutralized once the U.S. financial surplus with South Korea is included.
아주경제 김신회 기자 raskol@ajnews.co.kr
[아주경제 ajnews.co.kr] 무단전재 배포금지
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