ID :
204289
Tue, 08/30/2011 - 00:51
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/204289
The shortlink copeid
Severe damage to alliance expected if FTA fails: CRS
(ATTN: UPDATES with S. Korean parliament's move on FTA in last 5 paras)
By Lee Chi-dong
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- A collapse in the United States of a free trade pact with South Korea would deal a heavy blow to the alliance, with many South Korean policymakers seeing it as a "betrayal," a think tank affiliated with U.S. Congress said Monday.
It would also undercut Washington's efforts to maintain its economic clout in Northeast Asia, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
The warning came amid a protracted delay in U.S. steps toward ratifying the agreement, dubbed KORUS FTA.
It remains uncertain when the Barack Obama administration will submit a related bill to Capitol Hill. Lawmakers return from a month-long recess Sept. 6.
"A collapse of the KORUS FTA would probably have a profound symbolic effect, particularly upon the way South Koreans view the alliance," the agency said in a report made public on Monday.
If the deal is rejected or subjected to a prolonged delay by Washington, the report said, if would be a "psychological blow to many South Korean policymakers, many of whom would likely see it as a betrayal."
South Korea's policymakers believe that they made "politically costly concessions" when they accepted Washington's request for additional deals on autos, beef, labor and the environment last year, the agency said. The FTA was initially signed in 2007.
The CRS said a failure of the FTA would lend credence to arguments in South Korea that the "U.S. commitment to Korea and Northeast Asia is declining."
The fate of the trade pact could also affect the U.S. campaign to "institutionalize its economic presence in East Asia," it added.
The CRS, meanwhile, estimated that the FTA, if it takes effect on a full scale, will increase the U.S. gross domestic product by $10.1 billion to $11.9 billion a year.
In Seoul, South Korea's ruling Grand National Party (GNP) was apparently bracing itself for a fight with opposition parties on the KORUS FTA.
The GNP said it would submit a bill on the pact to the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee at the National Assembly on Wednesday (local time), a day later than originally scheduled.
The plenary session of the committee was postponed to Wednesday at the request of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), according to GNP officials.
"Although the plenary session was delayed a day, there is no change in our plan to submit the bill to the standing committee," Rep. Yoo Ki-june told Yonhap News Agency.
The DP and other opposition parties, which demand concrete measures to protect farmers and workers adversely affected by the FTA, are likely to try to block the GNP from putting the bill before the committee.
lcd@yna.co.kr
leechidong@gmail.com
By Lee Chi-dong
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- A collapse in the United States of a free trade pact with South Korea would deal a heavy blow to the alliance, with many South Korean policymakers seeing it as a "betrayal," a think tank affiliated with U.S. Congress said Monday.
It would also undercut Washington's efforts to maintain its economic clout in Northeast Asia, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
The warning came amid a protracted delay in U.S. steps toward ratifying the agreement, dubbed KORUS FTA.
It remains uncertain when the Barack Obama administration will submit a related bill to Capitol Hill. Lawmakers return from a month-long recess Sept. 6.
"A collapse of the KORUS FTA would probably have a profound symbolic effect, particularly upon the way South Koreans view the alliance," the agency said in a report made public on Monday.
If the deal is rejected or subjected to a prolonged delay by Washington, the report said, if would be a "psychological blow to many South Korean policymakers, many of whom would likely see it as a betrayal."
South Korea's policymakers believe that they made "politically costly concessions" when they accepted Washington's request for additional deals on autos, beef, labor and the environment last year, the agency said. The FTA was initially signed in 2007.
The CRS said a failure of the FTA would lend credence to arguments in South Korea that the "U.S. commitment to Korea and Northeast Asia is declining."
The fate of the trade pact could also affect the U.S. campaign to "institutionalize its economic presence in East Asia," it added.
The CRS, meanwhile, estimated that the FTA, if it takes effect on a full scale, will increase the U.S. gross domestic product by $10.1 billion to $11.9 billion a year.
In Seoul, South Korea's ruling Grand National Party (GNP) was apparently bracing itself for a fight with opposition parties on the KORUS FTA.
The GNP said it would submit a bill on the pact to the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee at the National Assembly on Wednesday (local time), a day later than originally scheduled.
The plenary session of the committee was postponed to Wednesday at the request of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), according to GNP officials.
"Although the plenary session was delayed a day, there is no change in our plan to submit the bill to the standing committee," Rep. Yoo Ki-june told Yonhap News Agency.
The DP and other opposition parties, which demand concrete measures to protect farmers and workers adversely affected by the FTA, are likely to try to block the GNP from putting the bill before the committee.
lcd@yna.co.kr
leechidong@gmail.com
