The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) expressed their enthusiastic support for the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) negotiations as the first round of formal talks begin in Washington.
“This agreement will create new opportunities for U.S. manufacturers in one of our biggest world markets,” said NAM President John Engler. “KORUS FTA will be the largest bilateral trade deal that the U.S. has undertaken in over a decade and Korea’s largest ever.” The agreement will address the full range of tariff and non-tariff issues, as well as services and investment.
“For Korea, KORUS FTA will lock in access to the world’s largest economy, providing a boost to the Korean economy and motivating Korea to maintain high standards of efficiency,” said KITA’s Washington representative, Suk-Ho (Andy) Mun. Noting that both the U.S. share of the Korean import market and the Korean share of the U.S. import market have begun to fall, Mun said, “KORUS FTA holds the promise of revitalizing Korea-U.S. trade and investment.”
Both Engler and Mun pointed out that the presence in Washington of protesters opposed to the agreement had been anticipated, given the importance of the trade talks. “The protesters don’t reflect the vast majority who will benefit from the agreement,” said Engler. “Public debate, though, is one method of clarifying the issues. But the debate must be based on facts. Independent expert studies have shown that a comprehensive agreement will enhance economic prosperity on both countries.”
Mun agreed completely. “In fact,” he said, “Polls show that 80% of the Korean public favors a Korea-U.S. trade agreement.” He noted that KITA Chairman Lee was recently in Washington to express strong support for KORUS FTA and pointed out that on May 22, NAM and KITA issued a joint statement of support which said “… that a Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement presents an unparalleled opportunity.”
The NAM-KITA Joint Statement can be found at: www.nam.org/kitajointstatement