Korea-US FTA Faces Bumpy Road'
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Korea Times
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2007-05-04 00:00
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Korea-US FTA Faces Bumpy Road'
By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter
The Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) has a lot of obstacles ahead and the signing of the pact will only be the beginning, said David Hale, founder of Hale Advisors in the United States, at a lecture organized by Institute for Global Economics at the Plaza Hotel in downtown Seoul, Thursday.
The renowned global economic commentator, who served as the global chief economist for the Zurich Financial Services Group, said nothing is set yet, as U.S. lawmakers represent interests of various states of the country.
''The Korea-U.S. FTA's three major problems are beef, automobiles and rice,'' Hale said. He said Democratic senator from Montana Max Baucus, who is also Chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, wouldn't approve the Korea-U.S. FTA unless Montana beef farmers are able to export their beef to Korean.
``Ford and Chrysler complain that Korea has non tariff trade barriers,'' he added. He said lawmakers from Michigan, where many auto manufacturers are located, wouldn't approve the pact unless Hyundai produces more cars in the United States. It currently produces half of their cars for the U.S. market in the United States and brings the other half from Korea, according to Hale.
``And there is rice. There will be lobbying for better access in the Korean market.''
He expected Democrats to push for labor treaties in the Korea-U.S. FTA, assessing whether Korean labor regulations comply with the International Labor Organization (ILO) standard.
He said the United States could be in a sticky situation if the U.S. lawmakers fail to approve the FTAs already agreed upon. ``If the United States cannot offer FTAs to Asia, it will be very much a passive leadership after China.''
He pointed out the regional trade expansion and the shift of intermediary goods from other Asian countries to China. ``China, which produces the finished goods, has big trade surpluses with the United States and Europe, but massive deficit with countries in this region,'' Hale said.
chizpizza@koreatimes.co.kr
By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter
The Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) has a lot of obstacles ahead and the signing of the pact will only be the beginning, said David Hale, founder of Hale Advisors in the United States, at a lecture organized by Institute for Global Economics at the Plaza Hotel in downtown Seoul, Thursday.
The renowned global economic commentator, who served as the global chief economist for the Zurich Financial Services Group, said nothing is set yet, as U.S. lawmakers represent interests of various states of the country.
''The Korea-U.S. FTA's three major problems are beef, automobiles and rice,'' Hale said. He said Democratic senator from Montana Max Baucus, who is also Chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, wouldn't approve the Korea-U.S. FTA unless Montana beef farmers are able to export their beef to Korean.
``Ford and Chrysler complain that Korea has non tariff trade barriers,'' he added. He said lawmakers from Michigan, where many auto manufacturers are located, wouldn't approve the pact unless Hyundai produces more cars in the United States. It currently produces half of their cars for the U.S. market in the United States and brings the other half from Korea, according to Hale.
``And there is rice. There will be lobbying for better access in the Korean market.''
He expected Democrats to push for labor treaties in the Korea-U.S. FTA, assessing whether Korean labor regulations comply with the International Labor Organization (ILO) standard.
He said the United States could be in a sticky situation if the U.S. lawmakers fail to approve the FTAs already agreed upon. ``If the United States cannot offer FTAs to Asia, it will be very much a passive leadership after China.''
He pointed out the regional trade expansion and the shift of intermediary goods from other Asian countries to China. ``China, which produces the finished goods, has big trade surpluses with the United States and Europe, but massive deficit with countries in this region,'' Hale said.
chizpizza@koreatimes.co.kr
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