Vilsack Touts Korean Free Trade Agreement
(DTN) As the Obama administration prepares to send the South Korean Free Trade Agreement to Congress, officials such as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are ramping up the push to get lawmakers to quickly pass the bill without delay.
Vilsack held a conference call with reporters Tuesday specifically to tout the benefits of the South Korean Free Trade Agreement and the need to stay ahead of other international competitors in South Korea. Vilsack said U.S. agricultural exports to the country would increase by about $1.8 billion a year.
Still, despite the urging, the South Korean FTA has not been delivered to Congress. Vilsack said the document is still being translated, but will be sent to Capitol Hill soon. As he and other administration officials promote the benefits of South Korea, at least some lawmakers have been demanding the administration send the Panama and Colombia FTAs to Congress as well, but the administration continues to try to negotiate changes to those two pacts.
About 60 percent of U.S. ag products sent to South Korea would immediately be duty free, Vilsack said. That includes corn, wheat, soybeans, cotton and wine. Duties on products such as beef and pork would decline over time. By 2016, pork producers would see 90 percent of their products sent to the country duty free. Beef products see a more phased-in approach over the next 15 years.
In highlighting the need to act quickly, Vilsack said if Australia moves quicker to close its FTA with South Korea, then Australian beef would have a lower tariff and price advantage over U.S. beef that would stretch over that 15-year time span.
Vilsack said the U.S. International Trade Commission has determined the economic impact will grow more from the South Korean Free Trade Agreement than from the country's last nine FTAs combined. Vilsack added he hoped Congress would have the agreement completed by July 1.
"We're hopeful that Congress will ratify and implement this agreement without delay," Vilsack said.
The Obama administration continues to pursue the president's goal of doubling U.S. exports over the next five years, and not simply in agriculture. Vilsack said that would create 70,000 new jobs.
Currently, the U.S. sends about $5 billion in agricultural goods to South Korea, making that country the fifth-largest export market already for U.S. farmers and ranchers. Still, South Korea relies less on U.S. agriculture than before late 2003 when beef exports were shutdown because of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Vilsack noted China, the European Union and Japan now are bigger agricultural exporters to South Korea than the U.S.
http://www.dtnprogressivefarmer.com
Vilsack held a conference call with reporters Tuesday specifically to tout the benefits of the South Korean Free Trade Agreement and the need to stay ahead of other international competitors in South Korea. Vilsack said U.S. agricultural exports to the country would increase by about $1.8 billion a year.
Still, despite the urging, the South Korean FTA has not been delivered to Congress. Vilsack said the document is still being translated, but will be sent to Capitol Hill soon. As he and other administration officials promote the benefits of South Korea, at least some lawmakers have been demanding the administration send the Panama and Colombia FTAs to Congress as well, but the administration continues to try to negotiate changes to those two pacts.
About 60 percent of U.S. ag products sent to South Korea would immediately be duty free, Vilsack said. That includes corn, wheat, soybeans, cotton and wine. Duties on products such as beef and pork would decline over time. By 2016, pork producers would see 90 percent of their products sent to the country duty free. Beef products see a more phased-in approach over the next 15 years.
In highlighting the need to act quickly, Vilsack said if Australia moves quicker to close its FTA with South Korea, then Australian beef would have a lower tariff and price advantage over U.S. beef that would stretch over that 15-year time span.
Vilsack said the U.S. International Trade Commission has determined the economic impact will grow more from the South Korean Free Trade Agreement than from the country's last nine FTAs combined. Vilsack added he hoped Congress would have the agreement completed by July 1.
"We're hopeful that Congress will ratify and implement this agreement without delay," Vilsack said.
The Obama administration continues to pursue the president's goal of doubling U.S. exports over the next five years, and not simply in agriculture. Vilsack said that would create 70,000 new jobs.
Currently, the U.S. sends about $5 billion in agricultural goods to South Korea, making that country the fifth-largest export market already for U.S. farmers and ranchers. Still, South Korea relies less on U.S. agriculture than before late 2003 when beef exports were shutdown because of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Vilsack noted China, the European Union and Japan now are bigger agricultural exporters to South Korea than the U.S.
http://www.dtnprogressivefarmer.com
Posted by Colvin & Co. at 3/10/2011 12:33 PM 
Categories: Food Security
Tags: trade agriculture farming South Korea
Categories: Food Security
Tags: trade agriculture farming South Korea
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