[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 171 (Wednesday, November 18, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S11487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    KOREA-U.S. FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I wish to express my strong support for 
the Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement. As you know, President 
Obama is in South Korea today and tomorrow meeting with South Korean 
President Lee Myung-bak, and I would like to take this opportunity to 
communicate to the President and his administration the importance of 
expressing support for the Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement 
during these meetings.
  The United States and the Republic of Korea have a long history of 
trade. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. 
goods and services traded with Korea totaled $101 billion in 2007. The 
Republic of Korea is the seventh-largest trading partner of the United 
States. In my home State of Georgia alone, goods and services exported 
to the Republic of Korea total more than $390 million, making the 
Republic of Korea Georgia's 12th largest trading partner. Furthermore, 
trade with the Republic of Korea accounted for more than $3 billion 
worth of goods passing through the Port of Savannah, GA.
  It is imperative that the United States build on this already strong 
relationship with the Republic of Korea by approving a Korea-United 
States Free Trade Agreement. Approving a Korea-United States Free Trade 
Agreement will enhance both economies by growing markets for both U.S. 
and Korean goods and services, creating jobs in both countries, and 
will strengthen an already strong relationship with one of the most 
important allies of the United States in the East Asian region.
  I would also like to take this opportunity to highlight a new KIA 
automobile production facility in West Point, GA. This is a direct 
investment from the Republic of Korea that is having a positive impact 
on my State's economy. This week, the first KIA Sorrento vehicles were 
completed at the West Point facility, where 1,200 jobs have already 
been created and an estimated 1,300 additional jobs will be created in 
the coming years. The impact on the local economy by the West Point 
facility is estimated to be around $6.5 billion over the next 3 years, 
which is already having a transformative effect on a community that was 
facing very hard economic times before the KIA facility came along.
  Mr. President, in closing, I would just like to emphasize how 
important the Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement is to the United 
States, and in particular to my home State of Georgia. The KIA facility 
in West Point, GA, is just one example of the impact that this proposed 
free-trade agreement could have on other communities across the United 
States. During these difficult economic times, it is critical that the 
administration and Congress look for ways to build the economy and 
create jobs, and approving the Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement 
would do just that.

                          ____________________