USTR receives 500 Colombia, Korea FTA comments

USTR receives 500 Colombia, Korea FTA comments    The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative received more than 500 comments on the country’s free trade agreements negotiated with Colombia and South Korea.
   Through two Federal Register notices published in July, the agency sought comments on stakeholders’ views of the costs and benefits of the pending FTAs, how well they accomplished the objectives of the 2002 Trade Promotion Act, and what concerns they may have with the agreements. The comment period for both requests for comments closed Tuesday.
   “This request reflects the administration’s emphasis on providing transparency and creating an open dialogue on trade issues,” said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk in a statement. “We will carefully review the comments received to help us determine how best to move forward with these FTAs.”

Kirk

   The U.S.-Colombia FTA was signed on Nov. 22, 2006, followed by the U.S.-South Korea FTA on June 30, 2007.
   Industry groups praised the Obama administration for reviewing the FTAs.
   “We think this is an encouraging sign and hope that this consultative process will help the administration work with the government of Colombia to set the benchmarks that have been discussed since the beginning of the year,” said Chuck Dittrich, National Foreign Trade Council vice president for regional trade initiatives.
   “The (Colombia) FTA is in the economic and diplomatic interests of both countries, and we urge the administration to set forth a plan for approval of the agreement,” Dittrich added.
   NFTC noted to the USTR in its submission the progress Colombia has made since 2002 to fight violence associated with illegal drug trafficking and to reform judicial procedures and reduce impunity.