[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 73 (Thursday, May 24, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S5637]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 43--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE 
 REGARDING THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA'S ONGOING PRACTICE OF LIMITING UNITED 
          STATES MOTOR VEHICLES ACCESS TO ITS DOMESTIC MARKET

  Mr. LEVIN (for himself and Mr. Voinovich) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Finance:

                            S. Con. Res. 43

  [Data not available at time of printing.]
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, today, as co-chairman of the Senate Auto 
Caucus, I am submitting with my colleague and Auto Caucus co-chairman, 
Senator Voinovich, a Concurrent Resolution urging Korea to remove its 
automotive trade barriers to U.S. automotive exports.
  Our resolutions urges the Republic of Korea to immediately end 
practices that have restricted market access for U.S. made automobiles 
and auto parts and meet the letter and spirit of the commitments it 
made in the 1998 Memorandum of Understanding in Automotive Trade. An 
identical Resolution is being submitted in the House by the co-chairmen 
of the House Auto Caucus. I call on both chambers to act swiftly to 
pass this important measure and send a strong signal to the Government 
of Korea that it's time to remove these trade barriers.
  The Senate and House Auto Caucuses have worked hard to bring 
attention to the rapidly increasing automotive trade deficit between 
the United States and South Korea. We have urged our Government to make 
it a priority to remove barriers to competitive U.S. automotive exports 
to Korea. It is a matter of simple fairness and American jobs.
  When it comes to automotive trade between the United States and 
Korea, the numbers speak for themselves. Korea has the most closed 
market for imported motor vehicles in the developed world with foreign 
vehicles making up less than one half of one percent of its total 
vehicle market. At the same time, Korea is dependent on open markets to 
absorb its automotive exports and has become one of the world's major 
auto exporting countries. The relationship is so blatantly unfair that 
Korea cannot deny their market is closed. Last year, Korea imported 
only 1,000 vehicles from the United States and exported nearly 500,000 
to the United States.
  This grossly unfair automotive trade relationship is due to the 
continuation in Korea of discriminatory practices such as labeling 
foreign vehicles as ``luxury goods''; ignoring harassment by the media 
and others of foreign vehicles owners; and an automotive tax system 
which discriminates against imported vehicles, making them 
prohibitively expensive.
  It's not fair and our message to Korea is that we don't accept it.
  That is why we submit this Concurrent Resolution on the even of the 
next round of trade negotiations between the United States and Korea 
which start in mid-June. The message we wish to send is clear and 
simple: we expect to see some significant market opening concessions by 
the Government of Korea in this round of negotiations and we expect to 
see the result in the form of actual and significantly increased sales 
of U.S. vehicles and parts in Korea.
  After five years of bilateral negotiations and two major trade 
agreements, imported automobiles are still locked out of Korea. This 
situation is unacceptable to the United States Congress and to the 
American people and it has to change. We expect and hope that the 
Korean Government will quadruple the effort that is required of them in 
order to ensure an open Korean market to U.S. automotive products. The 
nearly 2.5 million men and women working in the largest manufacturing 
and highest exporting industry in our country deserve nothing less.

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