Business Roundtable Calls for "Non-Traditional" FTA with Korea

Washington, DC - Business Roundtable today called for the United States to move beyond the "traditional" free trade agreement (FTA) with Korea, by removing not only standard trade barriers, but also discriminatory regulations and procedures inherent in the Korean system which currently prevent U.S. companies and their workers from successfully competing in the Korean markets.

Citing the potential for major economic benefits, the Roundtable issued a series of recommendations to negotiators in the form of a new policy paper "Real Liberalization in the U.S.-Korea FTA: Moving Beyond the Traditional FTA." The paper has been delivered to all Members of Congress and key Administration officials.

"A free trade agreement with the world's tenth largest economy would have a positive impact on U.S. economic growth," said Harold McGraw III, Chairman, President and CEO, The McGraw-Hill Companies, and Chairman of Business Roundtable's International Trade and Investment Task Force. "But to achieve the free trade agreement's full potential, Korea's non-traditional market access barriers must be overcome."

In outlining the importance of the U.S.-Korea FTA, Business Roundtable emphasized the following:

• A U.S.-Korea FTA offers significant economic growth opportunities for the U.S. and will help ensure that America's economic position in Asia remains strong and continues to grow.
• To be commercially meaningful, the FTA must address several unique market access issues - including regulatory and tax regimes that serve as barriers to trade with Korea.
• A comprehensive U.S.-Korea FTA will provide for long-term, durable market access that will benefit U.S. business, agriculture and workers for years to come.

"The requirements of a commercially meaningful FTA with Korea will mean greater challenges for our negotiators," added Mr. McGraw. "The Business Roundtable's recommendations outline key areas that must be addressed for the U.S.-Korea FTA negotiation to be successful."

A copy of "Real Liberalization in the U.S.-Korea FTA: Moving Beyond the Traditional FTA" is available as a PDF document by clicking here.

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Business Roundtable (www.businessroundtable.org) is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with over $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 market and represent nearly a third of all corporate income taxes paid to the federal government. Collectively, they returned more than $110 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 $86 billion in annual research and development spending - nearly half of the total private R&D spending in the U.S.

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