Bush Meets South Korea
President George W. Bush, meeting with South Korea's Lee Myung Bak, said he'll push for congressional approval of a free-trade agreement between the two allies and vowed to maintain pressure on North Korea to dismantle its nuclear-weapons program.
“The Korea free-trade agreement is a priority for this administration, and we will press hard with the United States Congress,'' Bush told reporters today at Camp David, Maryland, as he concluded a two-day meeting with Lee, the first South Korean leader to visit the presidential retreat.
The biggest free-trade agreement since Nafta is running into trouble among the majority Democrats in Congress, who are increasingly hostile to trade policies they say disadvantage American workers and industries. Representative Sander Levin, the chairman of the House Trade Subcommittee, yesterday signaled his opposition to the Korean deal, and a similar agreement with Colombia has been shelved by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“Our United States Congress must reject protectionism, must not turn its back on a friend and ally like Korea and must approve the free trade agreement with Korea this year,'' Bush said.
Bush also dismissed suggestions that the U.S. is backing down on its demands of North Korea over its nuclear program. North Korea missed a Dec. 31 deadline to make a declaration of its nuclear program and materials and to complete the disabling process at its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, where it produced weapons-grade plutonium.
`Trying to Stall'
“Of course, they may be trying to stall,'' Bush said. “Obviously I'm not going to accept a deal that doesn't advance the interests of the region.''
During their meetings, the two leaders agreed to maintain U.S. troop levels on the Korean peninsula in talks that also covered energy, expanding a visa waiver program and climate change, Bush said. Lee said Bush will visit South Korea later this year.
Lee, a former chief of South Korea's largest contractor, Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co., was elected in December as the first president with a business background. The 66-year-old leader has said he wants to “reinvigorate'' relations with the U.S.
His predecessor, Roh Moo Hyun, often butted heads with Bush on strategic issues, and his policy of engagement with North Korea frustrated the U.S. as it tried to pressure the impoverished communist state to give up its nuclear weapons cash advance loans.
`Cornerstone'
Lee “is clearly a president with the determination to strengthen ties with the U.S. on all fronts, not just politically, but also in the economy,'' Myron Brilliant, president of the U.S.-Korea Business Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's vice president for Asia, said. “The Korea-U.S. free-trade agreement is a cornerstone for that.''
Lee has pledged to take a tougher stance on North Korea, saying that a lack of progress on the nuclear front would harm relations. North Korea has called Lee a “traitor,'' a “charlatan'' and a “sycophant toward the U.S.''
The trade deal, signed by Bush and Lee's predecessor in June, would be the largest bilateral agreement for South Korea, home to companies including Hyundai Motor Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. The agreement would eliminate or reduce tariffs on goods from cars to vegetables and has the potential to increase annual two-way commerce by $29 billion.
Beef Imports
South Korea agreed yesterday to ease curbs on U.S. beef imports imposed because of the risk of mad-cow disease, clearing one obstacle to Congress ratifying the agreement. Levin, the chairman of the House Trade Subcommittee, said yesterday the decision on beef imports won't be enough to satisfy Congress.
“The problem with this FTA has always been broader than beef,'' Levin said in a statement.
Trade has figured in the presidential campaign as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, rivals for the Democratic Party's nomination, both say the U.S. should renegotiate parts of the North America Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.
The House voted 224-195 on April 10 to deny Bush's request for a vote on a trade accord with Colombia within 90 days, likely postponing action until after the November elections. It is the first time Congress has refused a presidential request to pass a trade agreement.
Bush, in his weekly radio speech today, said a free-trade agreement with Colombia is “dead'' unless Pelosi, a California Democrat, revives it by allowing a vote on the measure.
“Her action is unprecedented and extremely unfortunate,'' Bush said. “Leaders in Congress have made a serious error, but it's not too late to get it right.''
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