US, South Korea officials to continue work on final text of trade deal
Dow Jones Newswires | January 18, 2011
US, South Korea officials to continue work on final text of trade deal
By Tom Barkley, Dow Jones Newswires
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)—U.S. and South Korean officials plan to meet this week to continue working out the final text of the free-trade agreement, following last month’s breakthrough on the long-stalled pact between the two countries.
Wendy Cutler, assistant U.S. trade representative, will meet Thursday and Friday with South Korean Deputy Trade Minister Choi Seok-young in Los Angeles, during the annual meeting of the U.S.-Korea Business Council.
It will be their second meeting since a deal was reached in early December to resolve outstanding issues on the U.S. side on a free-trade pact originally concluded in 2007. The biggest bilateral trade agreement the U.S. has negotiated since the North American Free Trade Agreement is expected to boost exports of goods to South Korea by as much as $11 billion, according to the independent U.S. International Trade Commission.
The planned amendments mostly involve provisions sought by the U.S. to improve access for auto exports, in return for some concessions on the phasing of tariffs on U.S. pork.
Once the text is completed, presidents from both countries will submit the deal to lawmakers for approval.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said last week the administration hopes for the pact to be voted on by July 1, which is the date that a trade agreement signed between South Korea and the European Union goes into effect.
