U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement: Potential Economy-wide ... - USITC

conformity assessment procedures electronically to the other party at the same time they are
transmitted to the WTO pursuant to the TBT agreement; to allow the other party at least
60 days to review and comment on such proposals; and to publish or otherwise make
available to the public its responses to significant comments no later than the date it
publishes the final technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure. 70 The FTA
provisions would encourage each party to consider a broad range of alternatives for
accepting the results of the other’s conformity-assessment procedures and technical
regulations, and, when this is not possible, to explain why. 71
The TBT chapter would also include unique provisions to address standards- and regulatoryrelated
issues specifically affecting the automotive industry, such as automotive emissions
standards, safety standards, and onboard diagnostics requirements. 72 Further, the chapter
would establish an Automotive Working Group 73 to, among other things, resolve issues that
either party raises with respect to developing and enforcing standards, technical regulations,
and conformity-assessment procedures for the automotive sector. 74
Views of Interested Parties
U.S. industry officials said that the TBT chapter of the FTA is particularly important, given
the role of nontariff barriers in Korea’s economy. 75 In general, they state that the TBT
provisions of the FTA, if appropriately implemented, could be conducive to increasing trade
and investment with Korea through increased transparency and bilateral coordination. 76
According to testimony on behalf of the U.S.-Korea Business Council, the agreement
“provides for new levels of transparency and fairness in the establishment and administration
of standards.” 77
While U.S. industry and government officials support an FTA provision that would provide
for national treatment to U.S. testing and certification bodies, they nevertheless expressed
concern that it could be limited in its effects since Korean government, or governmentcontrolled,
testing bodies may not be covered by the provision. 78 Further, a major U.S.
automobile producer testified at the Commission’s hearing that the U.S.-Korea FTA will not
70 USTR, “Final - United States - Korea FTA Texts,” 2007, Article 9.6.
71 Ibid., Article 9.5.
72 Lee, testimony before the USITC, June 20, 2007, 15.
73 The Automotive Working Group is to provide an “early warning system” to address standards,
certification, and other regulatory issues that could develop in the future. When Korea develops new
regulatory requirements, it is obligated to provide such information to the working group as soon as the
information becomes available. The working group is to analyze potential new regulations and provide its
views to the Korean government for purposes of promoting good regulatory practices. USTR, “Final - United
States - Korea FTA Texts,” 2007, Annex 9-B; USTR, “Trade Facts: Fact Sheet on Auto-Related Provisions
in the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement,” April 3, 2007, 1–2; and USTR, “Fact Sheet: Free Trade with
Korea, Brief Summary of the Agreement,” April 2007, 1.
74 For additional information on the specific automotive standards issues to be addressed, see the sectorspecific
assessment for this industry in chapter 3 of this report.
75 NAM, “NAM Commends U.S. Negotiators for Concluding Korea FTA (April 2, 2007),” 1; and U.S.
industry officials, telephone interviews by Commission staff, April 10–12, 2007.
76 Dawson, testimony before the USITC, June 20, 2007, 29; and U.S. industry officials, telephone
interviews by Commission staff, April 10–12, 2007.
77 Reis, testimony before the USITC, June 20, 2007, 29.
78 U.S. industry officials, telephone interviews by Commission staff, April 10–12, 2007; and U.S.
government officials, interview by Commission staff, February 13, 2007.
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