Business Roundtable Applauds Deal on U.S.-Korea Trade

Washington, D.C. – Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies, today praised the deal that will lead to the passage of a U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. The FTA will expand U.S. trade with the world's tenth largest economy and strengthen America's presence in Southeast Asia.

"The new FTA with Korea will vastly improve our competitiveness in Korea by eliminating trade and regulatory barriers on our exports and investments," said John J. Castellani, president of Business Roundtable. "It will also reinforce the ability of the United States to become more competitive in Asia, one of the most important and fastest growing markets today."

South Korea is currently the U.S.'s seventh largest overall trading partner and the fifth largest international market for American agricultural goods. Korea's per capital GDP is more than $20,000 per year.

The trade deal is one of the largest bilateral trade agreements our country has negotiated. According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Korea FTA will increase U.S. exports by $19 billion and increase U.S. income by $20 billion annually.

"Increased trade is just one part of a larger agenda to make the nation more competitive," said Castellani. "Sound national policies on trade, education and other areas will help the U.S. maintain a leadership role in the global economy."

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Business Roundtable (www.businessroundtable.org) is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with $4.5 trillion in annual revenues and more than 10 million employees. Member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock markets and represent over 40 percent of all corporate income taxes paid. Collectively, they returned $112 billion in dividends to shareholders and the economy in 2005.

Roundtable companies give more than $7 billion a year in combined charitable contributions, representing nearly 60 percent of total corporate giving. They are technology innovation leaders, with $90 billion in annual research and development spending - nearly half of the total private R&D spending in the U.S.

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