By Kim Young-jin
Staff Reporter
A bilateral task force will be formed to expedite the ratification of the pending Korea-U.S Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), South Korean lawmakers said Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
The plan materialized during a meeting between three legislators of the ruling Grand National Party with Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), said Rep. Ahn Kyung-yul, one of those who traveled to Washington to push for timely approval of the stalled deal.
Reps. Chung Ok-nim and Lee Koon-hyon joined Chung in the meeting, held at Sessions' office on Capitol Hill.
"Rep. Sessions told me that he will present a draft for the formation of the task force within a few days," Chung said following the meeting.
Chung said that the plan calls for the board to be comprised of some 10 participants from each country, including lawmakers from both the ruling and oppositions camps.
The FTA was signed by the two countries in June 2007 but awaits ratification by the parliaments of both countries. Rep. Lee seemed to suggest that approval on the part of the United States may not be imminent.
"The atmosphere here is that it will take time for the KORUS FTA's ratification," he said.
During the visit, Lee said he will deliver a letter signed by 151 South Korean policymakers to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calling for timely action.
President Obama and other U.S. officials have placed the country's pending FTAs with Korea, Colombia and Panama as a key part of its ambitious drive to double the country's exports over the next five years.
However, the administration has yet to take significant steps to bring the deal to Congress, and concern is growing it may not do so this year as it addresses urgent issues such as health care and financial reform. Suspicions have also been raised that moves on the deal may have to wait until after November's midterm elections, which are known to create a more volatile political environment.
Obama has said that he will seek appropriate ``political timing'' for submission of the three pending deals, with ``different glitches'' needing to be worked out with each country.
In regards to the KORUS FTA, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative early this month cited an imbalance in automobile trade and restrictions on beef as issues needing to be resolved. But it added: ``If these outstanding issues can be successfully resolved, we will work with Congress on a timeframe to submit them for Congressional consideration."
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