Lee seeks to quell worries over FTA with U.S.

 

President Lee Myung-bak assured South Koreans Monday of long-term benefits from a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, saying it will not only expand South Korea's economic domain but also bolster the Seoul-Washington military alliance.

 

   South Korea and the U.S. completed protracted additional talks on a bilateral FTA, initially signed in 2007, earlier this month and both governments are preparing for ratification of the accord from their respective parliaments.

 

   While the U.S. side generally has expressed satisfaction with the latest deal, the Lee administration has faced a strong backlash at home. Critics argue Seoul made too many concessions on auto-related issues, a key part of the South Korea-U.S. FTA, officially dubbed "KORUS FTA." Another round of a political dogfight is expected in the ratification process.

 

   Lee said his government had no choice but to pay some sort of price for the sake of larger gains.

 

   "It is necessary to evaluate the KORUS FTA comprehensively in consideration of every field," the president said in his biweekly radio address. "The KORUS FTA will further enhance the competitiveness of the Republic of Korea and create more jobs."

 

   Lee stressed that the security alliance between Seoul and Washington will become more robust through the stronger economic alliance.

 

   He refuted public views that Seoul made excessive concessions on auto trade by accepting Washington's demands that tariffs on South Korean vehicles be maintained for the time being.

 

   He pointed out trade gaps between the two sides. South Korea exports more than 950,000 cars to the U.S. each year but imports a significantly lower number of around 10,000 vehicles.

 

   "Since our automobiles are highly competitive, we sought to gain bigger economic gains by making some concessions" on the field, Lee said.

 

   He added that once the existing 4-percent tariff on automobile parts is abolished under the FTA, South Korea's small- and medium-sized enterprises will be able to increase the exports of those.

 

   If the KORUS FTA goes into effect, South Korea will become the only country that has FTAs with the world's top three economic blocs -- the U.S., the European Union, and the ASEAN, plus India.

 

   South Korea has forged FTAs with a total of 45 nations. It is also in talks with a dozen other countries including Canada, Australia, Turkey and Colombia. South Korea is in working-level consultations with China and Japan to start negotiations.

 

   "Although South Korea has a small territory, its economic domain is becoming the largest in the world," Lee said. "South Korea is emerging as the center of the world's free trade."

 

The Source: The Korea Herald