South Korean President Urges FTA Passage
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spoke about benefits to agriculture when agreement ratified.
Jason Vance
Published: Nov 21, 2011
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has visited his parliament to urge legislators to vote through a free trade agreement with the United States. Critics in South Korea say the agreement could threaten their national interests. Even with opposition, the U.S. South Korean FTA is expected to sail through South Korea's parliament.
South Korean farmers are worried about a flood of U.S. farm products. However, the most opposition is coming from those who believe the deal gives U.S. automakers a major inroad into the South Korean market. Also, some say a provision in the deal gives foreign investors the right to have international arbitrations, that's akin to South Korea giving up its sovereignty. That clause could be renegotiated.
During a press call with reporters last week, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack declined to speculate how the agreement might be changed, but did talk about the situation in general terms, saying that he thinks President Lee is clearly committed to the free trade arrangement that was negotiated and that he is sure that Lee is working diligently to get his parliament to approve it.
"We understand and appreciate the challenges that trade agreements can present," Vilsack said. "That was certainly true as the President used his goodwill with Congress and the agricultural community in particular weighed in to encourage members of our Congress who had questions or concerns to ultimately ratify these agreements."
Although he chose not to talk specifics on Korean ratification of the FTA, Vilsack did say that he was sure that the U.S. would have a free trade agreement with Korea and it would be beneficial to agriculture and allow our exports to continue to grow.
The Free Trade Agreement could boost the $67 billion two-way trade between the allies by as much as a 25%. The Korean ruling party stresses the FTA is vital for Asia's fourth largest economy.
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Tagged: free trade agreement, fta, SURE, farm
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