Korea and U.S. Agree to Free-Trade Deal
After months wrangling over the details, the United States and South Korea announced on Dec. 3 they had fine-tuned a free-trade agreement that should help grow both economies by billions of dollars.
The agreement was signed by President George W. Bush in 2007, but some items were in dispute. It has to be approved by the U.S. Congress and its Korean counterpart. Legislation to approve the free-trade agreement is expected to be introduced in both countries in early 2011.
Trade negotiators were haggling over a few last details. One sticking point was over automobiles. The Korean market has restricted imports of U.S. cars. But the Obama administration was able to win a few concessions. That includes a slower reduction of U.S. tariffs on imported South Korean autos and an agreement that South Korea will exempt up to 25,000 of any U.S. cars from strict safety standards if they meet U.S. federal safety standards.
Another contentious subject, beef, was set aside. For now, U.S. cattle ranchers will not have unfettered access to the Korean market.
The U.S.-Korean Free Trade Agreement will mean that textile imports from South Korea will see many tariffs eliminated. For U.S. apparel makers, it will make it easier to sell U.S.-made clothing to the Asian country.—Deborah Belgum
