Obama urges Congress to begin discussions on Korea FTA without delay

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The Obama administration on Monday urged Congress to begin discussions for the ratification of a pending free trade deal with South Korea as a prelude to presenting it to Congress.

In a letter to Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said his office "has completed its preparatory work on the U.S.-Korea trade agreement and stands ready to begin technical discussions on the U.S.-Korea trade agreement draft implementing bill and draft Statement of Administrative Action."

U.S. administration officials usually meet with members of the House Ways and Means Committee to discuss the drafting of bills before submitting them for ratification.

In the letter dated March 7, the chief U.S. trade official expressed hope that "Our discussions to review these documents may commence without delay so that we can bring the export-creating, job-supporting promise the U.S.-Korea trade agreement home to American businesses and workers."

Carol Guthrie, spokeswoman for U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, meanwhile, reaffirmed the Obama administration's commitment to clearing the Korea FTA through Congress this spring.

"The Obama Administration continues to work with Congress on the process of moving the agreement forward for consideration," Guthrie said. "President Obama continues to call for a vote on the agreement in the U.S. Congress this spring."

Guthrie was responding to Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), who said last week that it will take until early April before the administration presents the Korea FTA to Congress because working out a compromise on the budget is a more pressing priority.

Congress reached a two-week budget deal last week to fund the government, but Congressional Republicans and Democrats need to strike a permanent deal before March 18 to avoid a suspension of the government. The sides are still US$50 billion apart, with Republicans demanding further cuts in job-training programs.

Kirk said on Feb. 9 that the Obama administration will present the revised Korea FTA to Congress within a month with the hope that Congress approves it "this spring" so as not to lag behind the European Union, which ratified a similar deal with Seoul set to take effect in July.

Seoul and Washington last month exchanged a supplemental agreement reached in December to address U.S. concerns over lopsided auto trade, the biggest hurdle to getting congressional approval of the Korea FTA since it was signed in 2007 under the Bush administration.

The revised deal calls for a delayed phaseout of auto tariffs, among other things, in return for Washington's concessions on pork and medicine.

The South Korean National Assembly is waiting for the U.S. Congress to approve the Korea FTA first to facilitate its ratification in South Korea, where the liberal major opposition party is set to oppose the deal.

Some Republican lawmakers want to consider the Korea FTA concurrently with similar deals with Colombia and Panama.    

Rep. Camp insisted in his letter to Kirk, written in response to Kirk's letter earlier in the day, that "You submit your action plan for advancing the Colombia and Panama agreements."

"Your letter is completely silent on our pending agreements with Colombia and Panama," Camp said. "I strongly believe that all three agreements should be considered by Congress by July 1. The administration still has not identified outstanding issues relating to these two agreements, reasonable steps to address those issues, and a timeframe for resolution."

Kirk has dismissed as "a huge mistake" the idea of submitting the three deals to Congress concurrently.   

The USTR is still negotiating with Panama and Colombia over labor rights, alleged abuse of union leaders and some other issues so that they do not hinder the deals' passage through Congress.    

Observers say the Obama administration will likely bring the Korea FTA first to Congress with a timeline for the submission of the two other deals.

The Korea FTA was negotiated under the Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002, which requires Congress to vote yes or no without any amendments within 90 days of the deal's submission.

Obama wants the Korea FTA to help his ambitious goal of doubling exports within five years as a means of creating jobs amid the world's biggest economy struggling to escape the worst recession in decades that began in late 2008.

In his State of the Union address last month, Obama called on Congress to ratify the Korea FTA "as soon as possible," saying that will "support at least 70,000 American jobs."   

The U.S. International Trade Commission has said the Korea FTA will help South Korea increase shipments to the U.S. by US$7 billion while enhancing U.S. exports to South Korea by $11 billion annually.

Some studies show the deal would increase annual two-way trade by more than $20 billion.

The U.S. goods trade deficit with South Korea was $10.6 billion in 2009, down $2.8 billion from 2008.