[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 152 (Wednesday, October 12, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1841]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      UNITED STATES-KOREA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACT

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                               speech of

                          HON. FRANK D. LUCAS

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 11, 2011

  Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation.
  The free trade agreement with Korea is of vital importance to 
America's farmers and ranchers.
  Korea is the fifth largest market for our agricultural exports. But 
currently, America's farmers and ranchers face an average tariff of 54 
percent when exporting to Korea. Similar goods from Korea enter our 
country at an average rate of only 9 percent.
  Passing this agreement corrects that imbalance and gives us better 
access to Korea's 49 million consumers.
  The Farm Bureau estimates that once the agreement is fully 
implemented, we could see $1.9 billion in increased farm exports.
  Every dollar in agricultural exports creates another $1.31 in 
economic activity off the farm in industries like processing, 
manufacturing, and transportation. So the agricultural provisions alone 
have the potential to provide a significant boost to our economy.
  That isn't including the other tariff cuts in this agreement, which 
the International Trade Commission predicts will add more than $10 
billion annually to our GDP.
  Within agriculture, we could see dairy exports to Korea quadruple 
under this agreement. Fruit and vegetable sales would increase by 50 
percent. And processed food sales would increase by more than a third.
  Those increased sales will translate directly to more jobs--both on 
and off the farm. That's especially good news because workers whose 
jobs depend on trade earn 13 to 18 percent more than the national 
average.
  That's why there is such tremendous support among the agricultural 
community for these free trade agreements.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support our farmers and ranchers . . 
. to support American jobs . . . and to support this free trade 
agreement.

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