hankyoreh

In a letter to the top U.S. trade official, two ranking officials in the U.S. House of Representatives have called for changes in the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) signed on April 2, particularly in areas dealing with the automobile market.

In the letter, sent on May 10 to U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, the head of the House Committee on Ways and Means Charles Rangel and chairman of the House subcommittee on trade Sander Levin said that though they had delivered a bipartisan consesus to the administration over the opening of the automobile market in South Korea, the George W. Bush administration has failed to implement Congress’ demands.

The letter adds that efforts should be focused on how the FTA should be used to systematically tear down Korean tarriff barriers, especially in the automobile sector. It also mentions the need for renegotiation in the manufacturing, agricultural, and service sectors.

The letter then refers to recently-inked FTAs with Peru and Panama, demanding specific changes in areas of labor, the environment, global warming, intellectual property rights, government procurement, and investment, but does not mention what changes are sought in the Korea-U.S. FTA in detail, save for the automobile sector.

The same day the letter was sent, U.S. Congress reached an agreement with the Bush administration to enforce more stringent labor and environmental standards in trade deals, a move expected to result in Washington’s request for further renegotiation of the Korea-U.S. FTA. Seoul has remained steadfast in its position that it will not renegotiate.

The FTA still faces approval by U.S. Congress and the Korean National Assembly.



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