Posted on: Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:08:14 EDT
Symbols: PRKGF
WASHINGTON, Oct 05, 2010 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) --South Korea recently signed contracts with U.S. public relations firms to facilitate congressional ratification of the pending free trade deal with the United States, a spokesman for the South Korean embassy here said Monday.
The embassy signed last month a one-year contract worth US$400,000 with the Glover Park Group and another three-month contract with Edelman worth $120,000, the spokesman said.
"We've signed the new contracts to renew the momentum as the coming months should be an important period for the FTA's ratification," the spokesman said.
"We want the companies to help persuade Congress to ratify the deal."
The embassy already has a few more similar contracts with U.S. lobbying firms.
U.S. President Barack Obama in June ordered U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to complete talks with South Korea over autos and beef before he flies to Seoul for the G-20 economic summit meeting. Obama would like to present the deal to Congress early next year.
Lopsided auto trade and restricted shipments of beef are two major concerns the U.S. wants to address before ratifying the Korea FTA, signed in 2007.
Kirk said earlier this month that he will sideline other issues aside from autos and beef to meet Obama's deadline, despite calls by a number of U.S. industries to revisit clauses on textiles, financial services, investment, labor provisions and even refrigerators.
Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) and 24 members of the Congressional Textile Caucus sent a letter to Kirk on Sept. 24 to reopen the U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement, calling for a longer tariff phase-out period for sensitive products and a stronger rule of origin and stronger customs enforcement language, according to World Trade Online, an online trade magazine.
The U.S. exported 5,878 autos to South Korea last year, while South Korean auto shipments to the United States totaled 476,833, according to statistics by the United Auto Workers.
The UAW has called on Congress to delay implementation of tariff reductions on autos and auto parts "until the domestic auto industry has fully recovered" and demanded it "be tied to measurable results in reducing the automotive trade deficit."
Beef is not an issue covered by the Korea FTA, but Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which handles trade, and some other politicians have threatened not to move for the approval of the pact unless South Korea allows shipments of beef from cattle of all ages. Montana is said to be the biggest source of beef from older cattle.
Exports are now limited to cattle under 30 months old due to fears of mad cow disease.
The U.S. beef industry has called for a cautious approach, fearing a possible backlash in the Korean market.
South Korea was the second biggest U.S. beef market, worth $815 million, when Seoul banned imports due to fears over bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, after a few U.S. cases surfaced in 2003.
Seoul resumed imports of U.S. beef from younger cattle in 2008 amid weeks of street rallies over safety concerns. Since then, imports have rebounded.
U.S. beef exports to South Korea reached US$216 million last year, making South Korea the fourth-largest importer of U.S. beef products.
The figure for the first six months of this year is US$225 million.
(Yonhap) ms
The embassy signed last month a one-year contract worth US$400,000 with the Glover Park Group and another three-month contract with Edelman worth $120,000, the spokesman said.
"We've signed the new contracts to renew the momentum as the coming months should be an important period for the FTA's ratification," the spokesman said.
"We want the companies to help persuade Congress to ratify the deal."
The embassy already has a few more similar contracts with U.S. lobbying firms.
U.S. President Barack Obama in June ordered U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to complete talks with South Korea over autos and beef before he flies to Seoul for the G-20 economic summit meeting. Obama would like to present the deal to Congress early next year.
Lopsided auto trade and restricted shipments of beef are two major concerns the U.S. wants to address before ratifying the Korea FTA, signed in 2007.
Kirk said earlier this month that he will sideline other issues aside from autos and beef to meet Obama's deadline, despite calls by a number of U.S. industries to revisit clauses on textiles, financial services, investment, labor provisions and even refrigerators.
Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) and 24 members of the Congressional Textile Caucus sent a letter to Kirk on Sept. 24 to reopen the U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement, calling for a longer tariff phase-out period for sensitive products and a stronger rule of origin and stronger customs enforcement language, according to World Trade Online, an online trade magazine.
The U.S. exported 5,878 autos to South Korea last year, while South Korean auto shipments to the United States totaled 476,833, according to statistics by the United Auto Workers.
The UAW has called on Congress to delay implementation of tariff reductions on autos and auto parts "until the domestic auto industry has fully recovered" and demanded it "be tied to measurable results in reducing the automotive trade deficit."
Beef is not an issue covered by the Korea FTA, but Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which handles trade, and some other politicians have threatened not to move for the approval of the pact unless South Korea allows shipments of beef from cattle of all ages. Montana is said to be the biggest source of beef from older cattle.
Exports are now limited to cattle under 30 months old due to fears of mad cow disease.
The U.S. beef industry has called for a cautious approach, fearing a possible backlash in the Korean market.
South Korea was the second biggest U.S. beef market, worth $815 million, when Seoul banned imports due to fears over bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, after a few U.S. cases surfaced in 2003.
Seoul resumed imports of U.S. beef from younger cattle in 2008 amid weeks of street rallies over safety concerns. Since then, imports have rebounded.
U.S. beef exports to South Korea reached US$216 million last year, making South Korea the fourth-largest importer of U.S. beef products.
The figure for the first six months of this year is US$225 million.
(Yonhap) ms
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