’US will endorse FTA with Korea by Oct. 21’
By Park Si-soo
Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said Wednesday that the U.S. Congress is expected to give a final endorsement of a free trade agreement with Korea by Oct. 21 at the latest.
Asked about the prospects for the passage of the deal in the U.S. during a National Assembly audit of state affairs, Kim said, “Optimistic people expect the deal to be done before the Korea-U.S. summit slated for Oct. 13. It may be delayed by one week.”
President Lee Myung-bak will travel to the U.S. on Oct. 11 and have a summit meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on Oct. 13, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
“With the Senate’s plenary session wrapping up on Oct. 21, the floor leader of the U.S. Democratic Party has vowed to complete the matter before then,” he said. The democrats have a majority position in the U.S. Senate.
His remark came one day after Obama sent the long-stalled bilateral deal to Congress and pressed lawmakers to approve it “without delay.”
The minister was negative of repeated calls for renegotiation from opposition parties, saying “putting the deal back to the negotiation table again is not easy and unrealistic.”
Opposition lawmakers have urged the government to hold further negotiations to modify two clauses in domestic laws and 10 in the agreement itself, a move to better protect domestic industries, especially agriculture.
“Various talks regarding the two are underway. But to have the 10 modified, renegotiation with the U.S. is inevitable. Given the timing and other procedural steps, it’s not easy and unrealistic at this moment,” he said.
Amid a rosy outlook of the bilateral deal sparked by Obama’s action, the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) has pledged to approve the agreement “by the end of the month.”
Seoul’s FTA motion is now pending at the National Assembly Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee.
The bill, approved by the committee, will be forwarded to an Assembly plenary session for final endorsement.
Rep. Nam Kyung-pil of the GNP, who chairs the committee, said Tuesday he was seeking cooperation from opposition parties for smooth passage of the bill.