A US official recently said that his country and South Korea are running out of time to complete their free trade agreement (FTA) talks. The two countries launched the international trade talks in June 2006 in a move to deepen their economic alliance. But negotiations regarding certain issues in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, and automotive sectors have not yet progressed. It must be noted that the United States and South Korea started the seventh round of the international trade talks last Sunday. The two parties had just finished the round last Wednesday.

Troy Stangarone, who is the current director of congressional affairs and trade at the Korea Economic Institute, said that key issues still remained unresolved after six rounds of international trade talks had been held by the US and South Korea. At present, negotiations continue as the two parties aim to conclude the FTA talks and come up with a deal before March ends. If the proposed pact materialized, it would be the largest FTA to be signed by the US after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993.

Particularly, the US is racing with time to close an international trade deal with South Korea since the fast-track negotiating authority of President George W. Bush is due to expire in July. Although the Bush administration is negotiating with the Congress regarding the possible extension of the authority, observers remain doubtful whether US legislators will renew it. The Bush administration needs to complete the FTA negotiations with South Korea by March since the former is required to give the Congress 90 days to review and approve the proposed trade pact.

Meanwhile, Automotive Trade Policy Council President Steve Collins said that US car makers, who are anxious to gain more access to South Korea's market, have little reason to be positive about the FTA talks considering critical situation of the negotiations. According to him, US car makers think that South Korea is among the most closed markets worldwide in terms of granting access to foreign automakers. It must be noted that South Korea signed an international trade deal with the US in 1995 and 1998 in a move to reduce barriers to imported automotive products.

The shipment of US beef to South Korea is another issue that has affected the progress of the FTA talks. Last year, South Korea lifted a three-year ban on US beef products. But it also rejected initial shipments from the US due to the fact that the products had failed to pass South Korea's health and safety standards. US legislators warned South Korea that they would not approve the proposed international trade agreement if the country failed to reopen its market to US beef. The proposed international trade deal is expected to boost the economic ties between the US and South Korea.