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AMCHAM Korea Applauds U.S. Announcement on Path Forward on the KORUS FTAPath Forward on the KORUS FTA

NBC-1TV World News


[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]SEOUL, August 5, 2011 – The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM Korea) expressed strong support for the recent announcement by the leaders of the U.S. Senate that there is an agreed, bipartisan pathway forward to approve pending trade agreements and the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in a joint statement on Wednesday that they had found a "path forward" for the Senate to take up trade deals with Korea, Colombia and Panama along with the job-retraining program when Congress returns from a month-long recess.

“My staff and McConnell's staff have been in discussions for weeks… we believe those discussions have provided a path forward in the Senate after we return for passage of the bipartisan compromise on the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, followed by passage of the three FTAs," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stated.

In a joint statement with Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, "I have long supported passage of the long-delayed FTAs, and I know that I speak for many on my side of the aisle that we are eager to get moving and finally pass them.”

U.S. President Barack Obama called Tuesday for U.S. lawmakers to work on the FTAs. “I want Congress to pass a set of trade deals”….. “And that's why, when Congress gets back from recess, I will urge them to immediately take some steps -- bipartisan, common-sense steps -- that will make a difference; that will create a climate where businesses can hire, where folks have more money in their pockets to spend, where people who are out of work can find good jobs," he said.

“AMCHAM Korea has been a long-standing and vocal supporter of early ratification of the KORUS FTA. The agreement is a win-win deal that will increase bilateral trade and create much-needed jobs in both countries. We urge the legislatures in both countries to act without further delay,” said Amy Jackson, President of AMCHAM Korea.

“The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) estimated that Korea’s real GDP will increase by an additional 6 percent and Korean exports to the U.S. by $13.3 billion within 10 years of implementation of the agreement. In addition, near-term ratification of this FTA will provide Korea with a key means to promote growth of its economy, expand employment, support growth of Korean SMEs, and control inflation,” added Jackson.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) estimated that the KORUS FTA will increase U.S. GDP by at least $10 billion and increase U.S. exports to Korea by $10-11 billion annually. However, these gains to the U.S. economy could be in jeopardy if implementation of the KORUS FTA is further delayed.

The Korea-EU FTA went into effect on July, and exports from the EU to Korea have already begun to expand significantly. On July 1 when the EU FTA when into effect, ninety percent of Korean tariffs on European imports were immediately eliminated. According to the Korea Customs Service, European exports to Korea from July 1 to July 13 surged 16 percent.

Korea has been negotiating and has completed comprehensive FTAs with many major trading partners. Today, Korea has 7 FTAs in effect that cover 45 countries, is in negotiations for 7 additional FTAs and is preparing negotiations with 9 more trading partners.

“Korea’s aggressive FTA agenda makes it all the more important for the U.S. Congress to pass KORUS as soon as they return from their recess. Not only has the Korea-EU FTA already gone into effect, but the Korea-Peru FTA was implemented on August 1. Every additional day of delay costs U.S. companies who are increasingly competing across virtually all sectors of the Korean market with foreign companies which have a cost advantage over them,” remarked AMCHAM President Amy Jackson.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM Korea) was founded in 1953, with a broad mandate to encourage the development of investment and trade between Korea and the United States. AMCHAM is the largest foreign chamber in Korea with around 2,000 individual members from almost 1,000 member companies with diverse interests and substantial participation in the Korean economy.



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