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Administration moving forward on Korea FTA

The Obama administration is indicating that it’s ready to move forward with the long-stalled South Korea Free Trade Agreement. 

U.S. and South Korean officials met during the G20 summit in Toronto over the weekend. Following the meeting administration officials said that, if outstanding trade issues can be resolved in the next few months, they will ask Congress to ratify the FTA after the midterm elections in November.

Among those welcoming the news is the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.  NCBA president Steve Foglesong says the Korea-U.S. FTA “could potentially be one of the most significant bilateral agreements in our history.”  And the National Pork Producers Council is also cheering the announcement, saying the Korea FTA could lift hog prices by ten dollars per animal when fully implemented.

If implemented, the agreement would reduce Korea’s current tariff from 40 percent to zero over 15 years.