Economics & Trade Relations
Washington File
11 January 2001
Text: Trade Commission to Study Negotiating Korea Free Trade Pact
(January 11 International Trade Commission news release) (780)
At the request of the Senate Finance Committee, the International
Trade Commission (ITC) has begun a study on the economic impact of
negotiating a free trade agreement between the United States and the
Republic of Korea, according to an ITC January 11 news release.
The ITC will inventory and analyze "the main tariff and non-tariff
barriers to trade between the United States and the Republic of Korea"
and estimate the effects of "eliminating all quantifiable tariff and
non-tariff barriers, with special attention to agricultural goods, on
the volume of trade between the two countries," according to the news
release.
The ITC will submit its report to the Senate Finance Committee on
September 18, 2001.
Following is the text of the news release:
(begin text)
January 11, 2001
News Release
01-003
Inv. No. 332-425
ITC TO ANALYZE IMPACT OF A U.S.-KOREA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has launched a general
fact finding investigation to analyze the economic impact of a free
trade agreement between the United States and the Republic of Korea.
The investigation, U.S.-Korea FTA: The Economic Impact of Establishing
a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the United States and the
Republic of Korea (Inv. No. 332-425), was requested by the U.S.
Senate's Committee on Finance in a letter received December 18, 2000.
In its request letter, the Committee said that the Korea report will
be the first in a series of reports it expects to request over the
next several months. The Committee noted that, in the absence of a new
round of global trade liberalization talks within the World Trade
Organization framework, it is interested in obtaining the Commission's
advice on the economic impact of negotiating bilaterally or regionally
with particular trading partners, as a number of U.S. trading partners
have done.
As requested, in the Korea investigation, the ITC will:
-- provide an overview of the Korean economy and the current economic
relationship between the United States and the Republic of Korea,
including a discussion of the important industry sectors in both
countries;
-- inventory and analyze the main tariff and non-tariff barriers to
trade between the United States and the Republic of Korea;
-- estimate the effects of eliminating all quantifiable tariff and
non-tariff barriers, with special attention to agricultural goods, on
the volume of trade between the two countries, the sectoral output and
Gross Domestic Product of both countries, wages and employment across
industry sectors in both countries, and the final prices paid by
consumers in both countries; and
-- provide a qualitative assessment of the effects of removing
non-quantifiable trade barriers.
The ITC will submit its report to the Committee on September 18, 2001.
The ITC will hold a public hearing in connection with this
investigation on May 17, 2001, at 9:30 a.m. at the ITC Building, 500 E
Street SW, Washington, DC. Requests to appear at the public hearing
should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m. on April 27, 2001, with the
Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW,
Washington, DC 20436. For hearing-related information, contact the
Office of the Secretary at 202-205-1806.
The ITC also welcomes written submissions for the record in this
investigation. Written statements (one original and 14 copies) should
be submitted at the earliest practical date but no later than 5:15
p.m. on May 25, 2001. All written submissions, except for confidential
business information, will be available for public inspection. Written
submissions should be addressed to the Secretary, United States
International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436.
Further information on the scope of this investigation and appropriate
submissions is available in the ITC's notice of investigation, dated
January 10, 2001, which may be obtained from the ITC Internet site
(www.usitc.gov) or by contacting the Office of the Secretary at the
above address or at 202-205-1806.
ITC general factfinding investigations, such as this one, cover
matters related to tariffs or trade and are generally conducted at the
request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Senate Committee on
Finance, or the House Committee on Ways and Means. The resulting
reports convey the Commission's objective findings and independent
analyses on the subjects investigated. The Commission makes no
recommendations on policy or other matters in its general factfinding
reports. Upon completion of each investigation, the ITC submits its
findings and analyses to the requester. General factfinding
investigation reports are subsequently released to the public, unless
they are classified by the requester for national security reasons.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)