WASHINGTON (AP) - A senior U.S. commerce official warned Thursday that U.S.
lawmakers would be turning their backs on a loyal ally if they failed to allow a
vote on an ambitious free trade deal settled last year with South Korea.
Undersecretary of Commerce Christopher Padilla said South Korea has made a
difficult decision to open up to world trade and turn away from what he called
the Japanese model of "closing oneself off to foreign investment, of limiting
foreign trade."
"As South Korea has decided to go further down the path of openness, some in
our country want to slam the door shut. That is ironic," Padilla said in a
speech sponsored by the Korea Economic Institute.
"What message would it send them if, because of our domestic campaign
politics, we cannot even give our ally a fair hearing on the merits or a vote
that they deserve?" he asked. "I think it would be to turn our back on an ally."
His comments come as senior Democratic lawmakers push the Republican Bush
administration to address what they see as Americans' immediate economic needs
before they take up free trade deals.
Padilla acknowledged that, as U.S. elections approach in November, there is
"middle-class anxiety" among Americans worried about the state of the economy.
But he criticized what he said was a tendency among some to blame job losses and
other economic problems on foreigners and foreign trade. "Worried about your
job? Blame China or Mexican immigrants," he said. Most job loss has little to do
with trade, he said, and more to do with improvements in technology.
Democratic Rep. Adam Smith said it would be an insult to South Korea to not
vote on a trade agreement painstakingly negotiated by both sides. He predicted
there would be a vote but could not say when.
The trade accord awaits legislative approval in both countries. South Korean
President Lee Myung-bak's rival party is reluctant to ratify the agreement amid
public criticism of a deal struck by the countries over imports of U.S. beef
into South Korea. The deal calls for Seoul to resume full-scale imports of
American beef for the first time in more than four years. South Korea leveled
restrictions on American beef over mad cow concerns.
Lee's popularity has suffered as South Koreans protest the deal because of
fears of the disease.
Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for East Asia Christopher Hill said U.S.
beef is "entirely safe" and is consumed by millions of Americans every day.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|