Korea Times, Seoul
Obama to Support FTA Passage
By Kim Jae-kyoung, Staff Reporter
9 November 2008
President-elect Barak Obama will support the passage of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) in the long run to maintain the strategic relationship between the two countries, according to a noted U.S. expert.
He added that although Korea may face rising pressure from the Obama administration to remove barriers regarding the import of U.S. products, such pressure will not weaken the alliance.
``I do not expect any fundamental change in the Korea-U.S. relationship under the Obama administration,'' Jeffrey Jones, an international lawyer at Kim & Chang, one of the largest law firms in Korea, told The Korea Times.
He pointed out that Obama recognizes the strategic importance of Korea, the value of economic relations and the need to maintain a strong relationship with the region.
``Ultimately, I believe the Obama administration will support the FTA passage as it will help significantly improve the economic relationship between Korea and the U.S.,'' he said.
Jones, who served as chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Korea between 1998 and 2002, has played an important role in solidifying the relationship between the two nations in business and trade areas.
He expects that once Obama sits in the Oval Office in January, Korea will have to cope with growing pressure from his administration, which many believe will put a high priority on protecting U.S. businesses and workers.
``There will be greater pressure to make further concessions on the import of automobiles to include the reduction of barriers based upon various regulations, such as adoption of a mutually recognized and standardized inspection regime,'' he said.
``There may also be greater pressure on Korea to assume a greater share of the burden of maintaining the U.S. military presence in Korea,'' he added.
However, Jones, who has lived in Korea since 1980, stressed that these types of pressures will not enfeeble the basic strength of the relationship or the commitment of the U.S. to the alliance and strengthening of the Korea-U.S. economic partnership.
``The Obama administration will be a fiscally conservative administration notwithstanding its ties to labor, commitment to a national health scheme and so on, so there will not be any major philosophical barriers to a healthy economic relationship with Korea,'' he said.
For President Lee Myung-bak's administration, Jones recommended it to go all-out to make Obama and his aides well informed of situations on the Korean Peninsula.
``Initially, the Korean government should work very hard to get Obama to make a visit to Korea as soon as possible. He is unfamiliar with Korea and he needs to experience first hand the strengths and weaknesses of Korea and get a personal sense of the value of the relationship,'' he said.
He added that throughout the administration, new individuals will be appointed to positions of authority who will not be familiar with the current Korean government administration.
``Efforts should be extended at various levels to educate the new officials with respect to the current status of Korea and the issues facing the economic and military alliance so that decisions are made on the basis of real information that is current and factually based as opposed to presumptions and populist notions that became well known during the political campaign,'' he said.
