U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement: Potential Economy-wide ... - USITC
U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement: Potential Economy-wide ... - USITC
U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement: Potential Economy-wide ... - USITC
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
While noting that the tariff phaseouts for corn starch and modified starch last several years,<br />
the CRA is pleased that the United States was able to obtain country-specific TRQs or<br />
safeguards that will facilitate the export of U.S. corn starch, dextrin, and modified starches<br />
to <strong>Korea</strong>. Despite the relatively modest amounts of duty-free access provided in the TRQs<br />
for corn and modified starch, the CRA expects that higher-value specialty starches for the<br />
food, pharmaceutical, and paper industries will fill these TRQs. It estimates the value of this<br />
new market access at approximately $50 million.<br />
Emergency Committee for American <strong>Trade</strong> 34<br />
In a written submission to the Commission, the Emergency Committee for American <strong>Trade</strong><br />
(ECAT) stated that it is an association of chief executives of leading U.S. business<br />
enterprises with global operations. ECAT said that its members represent the major<br />
agricultural, financial, high technology, manufacturing, merchandising, processing,<br />
publishing, and services sectors of the U.S. economy. ECAT noted that its member<br />
companies are “strong supporters of negotiations to eliminate tariffs, remove nontariff<br />
barriers and promote trade liberalization and investment world<strong>wide</strong>.”<br />
According to ECAT, the FTA includes “strong provisions on protection for U.S. investment<br />
in <strong>Korea</strong>, strong provisions promoting improved U.S. access to <strong>Korea</strong>’s market for<br />
agriculture, manufactured goods, and services through the elimination of tariff and nontariff<br />
barriers to U.S. exports and U.S. investment to <strong>Korea</strong>, strong protections of U.S. intellectual<br />
property rights, and strong provisions promoting greater transparency in the <strong>Korea</strong>n market.”<br />
ECAT noted, however, that the U.S.-<strong>Korea</strong> FTA does not address all the issues sought by<br />
their association and urged that the United States continue efforts to ensure that market<br />
access barriers in <strong>Korea</strong> are addressed quickly.<br />
ECAT said that the investment chapter in the FTA contains “strong protections to guarantee<br />
fair and equitable treatment; national treatment and most-favored nation treatment; prompt,<br />
adequate, and effective compensation for direct and indirect expropriations; the free<br />
movement of capital; and restrictions on performance requirements.” ECAT added, however,<br />
it was disappointed that the investment chapter does not extend the investor-state procedure<br />
to financial institutions for national treatment claims.<br />
With regard to the market access provisions, the elimination of tariffs will have a positive<br />
impact on U.S. exports; that it is critical to ensure that <strong>Korea</strong> reestablishes and provides<br />
access to U.S. beef; that it supports intensive U.S. Government efforts to ensure that <strong>Korea</strong><br />
barriers to U.S. automotive trade are eliminated quickly; and that the FTA will promote<br />
greater access for U.S. innovative pharmaceutical products in the <strong>Korea</strong>n market through<br />
increasing transparency and strong intellectual property protections agreed to by <strong>Korea</strong>. With<br />
regard to textiles and apparel, the FTA provides duty-free access under a yarn-forward rule<br />
only for textiles and apparel made from U.S. or <strong>Korea</strong>n yarn and fabric, and said that the<br />
provision is of limited usefulness to U.S. apparel companies because of its restrictive nature.<br />
With regard to services, certain provisions will provide substantial new economic<br />
opportunities to some of the most competitive U.S. industries. The FTA would permit greater<br />
expansion, competition, and business opportunities for all insurance providers, provide<br />
greater market access for U.S. banking and securities firms through investment and cross-<br />
34 Emergency Committee for American <strong>Trade</strong>, written submission, June 27, 2007.<br />
7-16