ID :
19918
Wed, 09/17/2008 - 10:48
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/19918
The shortlink copeid
CRS report sees little chance for FTA approval
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Congress is not likely to approve a free trade deal between South Korea and the United States this year due to opposition from reluctant Democrats controlling both the House and Senate, a congressional report said Tuesday.
"Differences between the Bush administration and the Democratic leadership
in Congress and leading Democratic presidential candidates have made
congressional approval of the FTA unlikely in 2008," the July 25th report by
the Congressional Research Service said.
Democrats have opposed the FTA with South Korea, commonly referred to as the
KORUS FTA, citing an imbalance in automobile and steel trade between South Korea
and the U.S. Their opposition comes despite the fact that Seoul recently cleared
the way for U.S. beef shipments, sparking weeks of street rallies earlier this
year against U.S. beef imports.
"In the U.S., auto and steel manufacturers and their labor unions oppose the
agreement on the grounds that it would reduce barriers to the import of South
Korean steel and automobiles while not opening the South Korean market
sufficiently for U.S. autos," the report said.
Officials of the Bush administration say the FTA will help level trade imbalances
between the two countries, though they admit no FTA deal can guarantee a certain
market share.
The report, in the meantime, notes that there is "vocal support for the
KORUS FTA in both the U.S. and South Korea."
"U.S. supporters view passage as important to secure new opportunities for
U.S. business in the South Korean market," it said. "Other supporters
argue that the FTA will strengthen the U.S.-South Korea alliance as a whole,
though some caution that the FTA should be supported on the basis of economic
benefits only and not linked to the military alliance."
Some analysts dismiss Democrats' opposition to the Korea-U.S. FTA as a campaign
ploy to woo votes from U.S. workers fearful of possible job cuts.
South Korean and U.S. officials have expressed confidence that the bilateral FTA,
the biggest for the U.S. since the North American Free Trade Agreement in the
early 1990s, will pass through Congress once it is put to vote during a lame duck
session likely to be convened after the November presidential election.
Seoul and Washington signed the FTA in June last year and are awaiting approval
by the legislatures of both sides, hoping to enhance two-way trade volume by
US$20 billion annually.
South Korean legislators have said they would deliberate the FTA during the
ongoing parliamentary session, pressing the U.S. Congress to do the same.
Lee Myung-bak's ruling Grand National Party holds a majority of seats, and a
considerable number of opposition lawmakers have already given their support to
the agreement.
"On the South Korean side, President Lee Myung-bak is weighing the timing of
when to ask the Korean National Assembly to take up the KORUS FTA," the
report said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Congress is not likely to approve a free trade deal between South Korea and the United States this year due to opposition from reluctant Democrats controlling both the House and Senate, a congressional report said Tuesday.
"Differences between the Bush administration and the Democratic leadership
in Congress and leading Democratic presidential candidates have made
congressional approval of the FTA unlikely in 2008," the July 25th report by
the Congressional Research Service said.
Democrats have opposed the FTA with South Korea, commonly referred to as the
KORUS FTA, citing an imbalance in automobile and steel trade between South Korea
and the U.S. Their opposition comes despite the fact that Seoul recently cleared
the way for U.S. beef shipments, sparking weeks of street rallies earlier this
year against U.S. beef imports.
"In the U.S., auto and steel manufacturers and their labor unions oppose the
agreement on the grounds that it would reduce barriers to the import of South
Korean steel and automobiles while not opening the South Korean market
sufficiently for U.S. autos," the report said.
Officials of the Bush administration say the FTA will help level trade imbalances
between the two countries, though they admit no FTA deal can guarantee a certain
market share.
The report, in the meantime, notes that there is "vocal support for the
KORUS FTA in both the U.S. and South Korea."
"U.S. supporters view passage as important to secure new opportunities for
U.S. business in the South Korean market," it said. "Other supporters
argue that the FTA will strengthen the U.S.-South Korea alliance as a whole,
though some caution that the FTA should be supported on the basis of economic
benefits only and not linked to the military alliance."
Some analysts dismiss Democrats' opposition to the Korea-U.S. FTA as a campaign
ploy to woo votes from U.S. workers fearful of possible job cuts.
South Korean and U.S. officials have expressed confidence that the bilateral FTA,
the biggest for the U.S. since the North American Free Trade Agreement in the
early 1990s, will pass through Congress once it is put to vote during a lame duck
session likely to be convened after the November presidential election.
Seoul and Washington signed the FTA in June last year and are awaiting approval
by the legislatures of both sides, hoping to enhance two-way trade volume by
US$20 billion annually.
South Korean legislators have said they would deliberate the FTA during the
ongoing parliamentary session, pressing the U.S. Congress to do the same.
Lee Myung-bak's ruling Grand National Party holds a majority of seats, and a
considerable number of opposition lawmakers have already given their support to
the agreement.
"On the South Korean side, President Lee Myung-bak is weighing the timing of
when to ask the Korean National Assembly to take up the KORUS FTA," the
report said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
