Senators urge Obama push for Korea trade deal

WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) - Two senior U.S. senators
urged President Barack Obama on Monday to begin "the hard work"
of passing a free trade agreement with South Korea that he
opposed during last year's campaign.
North Korea's recent missile launch and "statements that it
will resume its nuclear program demonstrate yet again the
threat that North Korea poses in the northeast Asian region,"
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and Senator
Charles Grassley said in a letter to Obama.
"In the face of this threat, it is vital that the United
States maintain and expand its strong and proven partnership
with the Republic of Korea," Baucus, a Democrat, and Grassley,
the top Republican on the Finance panel, said.
Obama called during last year's campaign for the South
Korean agreement to be renegotiated to include more favorable
provisions for U.S. automakers and other manufacturers.
Critics of the pact complain that it removes the few
remaining U.S. tariffs on South Korean automobiles, while doing
little to dismantle "non-tariff barriers" that keep U.S.
automobiles out of Korea.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk recently said the United
States was prepared to walk away from the agreement if Seoul
was unwilling to address U.S. concerns.
Baucus and Grassley said they understood the Obama
administration was likely to focus first on winning approval of
free trade pacts with Colombia and Panama.
"At the same time, we also urge you to begin the hard work
of winning broad approval of the U.S.-Korea FTA without delay,"
they said. Waiting to address concerns about autos and South
Korea's reluctance to fully reopen its market to U.S. beef will
not make those issues easier to resolve, they added.
(Reporting by Doug Palmer; editing by Patricia Zengerle)
((doug.palmer@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 898 8341; Reuters
Messaging: doug.palmer.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: USA SOUTHKOREA/TRADE

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