October 27, 2010U.S., Korea rush to get final FTA compromise
The United States has reiterated its pledge to resolve differences over autos and beef for the early ratification of its pending free trade deal with Korea.
“I think we all recognize that this is the best possible timing to make a decision at the strategic level,” Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told a forum at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Campbell’s remarks came as Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon was set to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk in San Francisco yesterday, the first official meeting since June.
U.S. President Barack Obama instructed Kirk at a G-20 meeting in Toronto in June to complete talks with Korea over beef and autos before he flies to Seoul for the G-20 Summit in mid-November. He said he would like to present the deal to Congress early next year.
Kim met with deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis in Paris early this month but failed to reach an agreement on how to address U.S. concerns over an imbalance in auto trade and limited shipments of U.S. beef. Marantis at the time did not put forth concrete proposals.
The chief Korean trade negotiator said last week that he does not expect to conclude talks with the U.S. in the coming weeks because of the political sensitivity of the trade issue ahead of the mid-term elections in the U.S. early next month.
Many Democratic lawmakers oppose the pending free trade deals with Korea, Colombia and Panama, signed under the Bush administration, fearing possible job cuts. Kirk said recently that he will sideline issues other than autos and beef to complete talks with Korea by next month.
