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WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama won?t be returning from his Asia trip with a renegotiated free trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea. Concerns over barriers to American automakers selling more vehicles in that country remain a point of contention.
The Obama administration had hoped to reach a deal on the free trade agreement first settled in 2007. That deal was never formally approved by either nation, and congressional Democrats ? particularly those in the House ? had balked because of concerns that U.S. automakers still couldn?t compete on equal footing in South Korea.
This week, Chrysler Group LLC joined Ford in opposing the deal as written. Last week, Ford took out a full-page ad claiming that for every 52 Korean cars sold in the U.S. only one American car is sold in South Korea.
Obama administration officials said they will continue working in the months to come to reach a deal on the free trade agreement, which U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue said could cost up to 340,000 jobs unless it is settled.
?We understand that progress was made and differences have been narrowed,? Donohue said. ?We urge both presidents to direct their ministers and staff to resolve remaining details with the greatest possible speed and urgency.?
With Republicans taking majority control of the U.S. House beginning in January, it was believed that a free trade agreement with South Korea would have a much easier chance of passage. But there were some indications Thursday that there could still be hurdles to cross.
In a joint statement, current House Ways and Means Chairman Sander Levin, a Royal Oak Democrat, and his presumptive replacement, Republican Dave Camp of Midland, said ?Further negotiations will succeed only if South Korea adopts concrete steps to open its market to U.S. exports? including autos.
?While there are other unresolved issues, nowhere is this more evident than in the dangerously lopsided trade in automotive vehicles,? the two said. ?In 2009 alone, South Korea exported more than 476,000 autos to the U.S. while fewer than 6,000 U.S. vehicles managed to get through Korean trade barriers.?
The Ways and Means Committee?s sign off will be required for any trade agreement to move ahead in Congress.
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