06 November 2009
Asia-Pacific Region Seen as “Key Driver” of Global Economy
Top U.S. trade official underscores U.S. commitment to opening markets
Washington — “The Asia-Pacific region has become a worldwide center of economic activity and innovation,” U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk said November 5. “And it is a key driver of global economic growth and recovery.”
Kirk, addressing the U.S.-Korea Business Council in Washington, underscored the importance the United States attaches to its partnerships in Asia and the Obama administration’s commitment to opening markets and forging closer trade relationships in the region, which currently receives about 60 percent of U.S. exports.
“President Obama and I recognize that successful engagement with the Asia-Pacific is a critical part of U.S. trade policy,” Kirk said.
The USTR will be joining President Obama in Singapore for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders Meeting scheduled to begin November 13. (See “Economic Recovery, Resisting Trade Protectionism Top APEC Agenda.”)
“As the region continues to grow, Asia-Pacific economies will only become more important to the United States,” Kirk said.
KOREA-U.S. TRADE PACT
Kirk also assured his audience that the Obama administration remains committed to implementing the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement, which was signed by the United States and the Republic of Korea June 30, 2007.
The agreement would be the United States’ most commercially significant free-trade agreement in more than 16 years, according to the Office of the Trade Representative. The pact requires congressional approval to come into force, and some members of Congress have expressed concerns about the effect some of its provisions, particularly those governing automotive trade, would have on U.S. industry.
“As all of you know, the American auto industry is working through a period of difficult transition,” Kirk said. “Our market is open to Korean autos. All we are asking for is for our own auto companies to be able compete on a level playing field in the Korean market.”
Under the FTA, nearly 95 percent of bilateral trade in consumer and industrial products would become duty-free within three years of the date the FTA enters into force, and most remaining tariffs would be eliminated within 10 years.
“Korea is America’s seventh-largest trading partner. Last year, two-way trade in goods alone totaled $83 billion, and that’s on top of $20 billion more in services trade,” Kirk said. “And if that’s not enough, we have also invested $40 billion more in each others’ economies.”
The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates the reduction of Korean tariffs and quotas on goods alone would add $10 billion to $12 billion to the annual U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and approximately $10 billion to annual merchandise exports to Korea.
Kirk said the anticipated economic gains for South Korea are also significant, potentially boosting its GDP by up to 2 percent.
Noting that in four decades South Korea “made the transition from one of the world’s poorest countries to the world’s 15th largest economy by GDP,” Kirk praised the nation as “a bulwark for stability and security in Northeast Asia, and one of America’s most significant economic partners.”
Kirk particularly lauded South Korea’s recent steps to strengthen intellectual property rights (IPR), saying the new laws boosting copyright protection on the Internet are already making a difference.
From November 4 to 6, South Korea hosted, in Seoul, the sixth round of negotiations on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Participants included Australia, Canada, the European Union (represented by the European Commission), the EU Presidency (Sweden) and EU member states, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland and the United States.
South Korea’s progress on protecting intellectual property has been so significant that the United States in April removed the nation from its “Special 301 Watch List” of countries that do a poor job of protecting IPR.
All these factors suggest there is cause for optimism about the free-trade agreement, Kirk said.
“There is no question that the U.S.-Korea FTA has the potential to bring significant economic and strategic benefits to both countries,” Kirk said. “I am committed to working together so that we can find the path to an even stronger, more robust trading partnership between the United States and Korea.”
The full text of Kirk’s remarks as prepared for delivery is available on America.gov.
