ID :
34672
Tue, 12/09/2008 - 16:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/34672
The shortlink copeid
U.S. scholar urges Korea to be flexible in FTA auto provisions
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. researcher Monday urged South Korea to show flexibility over the auto provisions of a pending free trade agreement amid growing global protectionism and a struggling U.S. auto industry.
"The United States is facing a potentially much more critical crisis (than Korea)
and Korea could strengthen the alliance by showing...flexibility in the United
States' time of need," Troy Stangarone, a senior fellow at the Korea Economic
Institute, said in a report posted on the KEI's Web site.
Stangarone cited the U.S. auto industry's precarious state as it seeks a bailout
package from the U.S. government to avoid bankruptcy and President-elect Barack
Obama and congressional Democrats' reluctance to approve the trade deal with
South Korea "as it stands."
"One option would be to temporarily suspend the provisions relating to trade in
autos," he said. "While the FTA currently calls for a three year phase-out of
U.S. tariffs and an immediate lifting of Korean tariffs on autos, a temporary
suspension would offer two benefits."
A temporary suspension could allow the U.S. auto industry to restructure, he
said, noting the temporary arrangements the U.S. made in June to limit shipments
of U.S. beef from cattle less than 30 months to soothe South Korea's concerns
over mad cow disease.
"This past spring, as daily protests over U.S. beef filled the streets of Seoul,
the United States worked with Korea to find a politically acceptable way to
relieve the crisis," he said.
Former U.S. ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow made similar remarks
last week, urging South Korea to consider some "additional negotiations" over the
pending free trade deal.
Vershbow called on South Koreans "to be open minded by showing flexibility as the
United States showed on beef after the candlelight vigil," hoping that the
incoming Barack Obama administration will ratify the deal early next year if
Seoul shows flexibility.
Obama has termed the Korea FTA "badly flawed," saying South Korea exports more
than 700,000 automobiles to the U.S. annually while buying only about 6,000 U.S
vehicles.
Stangarone, meanwhile, challenged the statistics.
"While Korea sold nearly 775,000 cars in the United States in 2007, it is often
cited that the United States sold only 6,500 cars in Korea," he said. "However,
the real sales and production figures are much more complex than this disparity
would indicate."
He cited the different sizes of the auto markets of the two countries and the
exclusion of the sales made by the Korea subsidiary of GM.
GM Daewoo sold more than 125,000 vehicles in South Korea last year.
"If these are included in the U.S. sales figure, sales by U.S. owned automobile
companies rise to nearly 135,000, giving the United States 12.8 percent of the
Korean market," compared with South Korea's about 5 percent market share in the
U.S., he said.
"In contrast, the 775,000 vehicles Korea sold in the United States include
250,000 that were made at the Hyundai plant in Alabama," he said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
Downlo
"The United States is facing a potentially much more critical crisis (than Korea)
and Korea could strengthen the alliance by showing...flexibility in the United
States' time of need," Troy Stangarone, a senior fellow at the Korea Economic
Institute, said in a report posted on the KEI's Web site.
Stangarone cited the U.S. auto industry's precarious state as it seeks a bailout
package from the U.S. government to avoid bankruptcy and President-elect Barack
Obama and congressional Democrats' reluctance to approve the trade deal with
South Korea "as it stands."
"One option would be to temporarily suspend the provisions relating to trade in
autos," he said. "While the FTA currently calls for a three year phase-out of
U.S. tariffs and an immediate lifting of Korean tariffs on autos, a temporary
suspension would offer two benefits."
A temporary suspension could allow the U.S. auto industry to restructure, he
said, noting the temporary arrangements the U.S. made in June to limit shipments
of U.S. beef from cattle less than 30 months to soothe South Korea's concerns
over mad cow disease.
"This past spring, as daily protests over U.S. beef filled the streets of Seoul,
the United States worked with Korea to find a politically acceptable way to
relieve the crisis," he said.
Former U.S. ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow made similar remarks
last week, urging South Korea to consider some "additional negotiations" over the
pending free trade deal.
Vershbow called on South Koreans "to be open minded by showing flexibility as the
United States showed on beef after the candlelight vigil," hoping that the
incoming Barack Obama administration will ratify the deal early next year if
Seoul shows flexibility.
Obama has termed the Korea FTA "badly flawed," saying South Korea exports more
than 700,000 automobiles to the U.S. annually while buying only about 6,000 U.S
vehicles.
Stangarone, meanwhile, challenged the statistics.
"While Korea sold nearly 775,000 cars in the United States in 2007, it is often
cited that the United States sold only 6,500 cars in Korea," he said. "However,
the real sales and production figures are much more complex than this disparity
would indicate."
He cited the different sizes of the auto markets of the two countries and the
exclusion of the sales made by the Korea subsidiary of GM.
GM Daewoo sold more than 125,000 vehicles in South Korea last year.
"If these are included in the U.S. sales figure, sales by U.S. owned automobile
companies rise to nearly 135,000, giving the United States 12.8 percent of the
Korean market," compared with South Korea's about 5 percent market share in the
U.S., he said.
"In contrast, the 775,000 vehicles Korea sold in the United States include
250,000 that were made at the Hyundai plant in Alabama," he said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
Downlo
