[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 107 (Thursday, June 26, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1385-E1386]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIGNING OF THE U.S.-KOREA FREE TRADE 
                               AGREEMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEVIN BRADY

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 26, 2008

  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Madam Speaker, on Monday, June 30, we will mark 
the one-year

[[Page E1386]]

anniversary since negotiators for the United States and the Republic of 
Korea signed the historic and landmark U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, 
one of the most commercially significant free trade agreements to be 
signed by the United States in over a decade.
  The Republic of Korea and the United States are already major trading 
partners. South Korea has the world's 11th largest economy and stands 
as our 7th largest trading partner with more than $80 billion passing 
between our two nations each year.
  Today, Korea took a critical step toward implementing the recent 
agreement between the United States and Korea that will allow exports 
of high-quality U.S. beef to resume, based on internationally 
recognized standards that affirm the safety of U.S. beef.
  Before the import ban, South Korea was the third largest sales market 
for U.S. beef, valued at over $800 million a year. As the nation's 
fourth largest beef exporter, Texas would stand to benefit greatly from 
new opportunities in the Korean market. Under the FTA, Korea would 
remove tariffs of up to 40 percent levied on U.S. beef, giving U.S. 
ranchers an advantage over other foreign competitors.
  By eliminating tariffs and other trade barriers and strengthening 
protections for U.S. companies, the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement 
will expand trade and investment further. The U.S. International Trade 
Commission has forecast that the elimination of tariffs on U.S. goods 
under the U.S.-Korea FTA would grow U.S. GDP by over $10 billion 
annually, upon full implementation. The agreement will also eliminate 
regulatory and other non-tariff barriers that have historically 
restricted access by U.S. farmers, manufacturers and service providers 
to the South Korean market.
  Should the United States Congress sit idle and continue to ignore the 
economic potential this historic agreement offers, I assure you South 
Korea will not stop efforts to liberalize its trade relations with 
other countries--putting Americans at a disadvantage when competing 
abroad. We cannot afford a time-out on trade while the rest of the 
world marches on.
  Madam Speaker, in closing, this week, we took a moment of pause on 
June 25, 2008, to remember the 58th anniversary of the outbreak of the 
Korean War. As that conflict, out of which was born the U.S.-Korea 
alliance, has often been referred to as the ``Forgotten War,'' it is 
our duty to honor and remember the noble sacrifices of our Korean War 
veterans.

                          ____________________