Korean Ambassador: Free Trade Will Benefit RI’s Economy
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Han Duk-soo, the South Korean ambassador to the United States, visited Rhode Island yesterday as part of his tour across the country to promote a proposed free trade agreement between the two nations.
On Monday, he delivered a public lecture at Brown University entitled, “Korea-U.S. Relations: Past, Present and Future.” He also set aside some time to personally speak with GoLocalProv on how the KORUS free trade agreement would benefit RI’s economy.
Stimulating Local and National Economies Through Trade
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTDuk-soo noted that in 2008, Korea imported more than $10 million worth of goods from Rhode Island, demonstrating how beneficial trade between international markets can be. The proposed agreement will lower tariffs in both countries across the board, which will stimulate trade and production in a variety of industries. (For more information, see below charts.)
Han specifically pointed out that the following RI industries would greatly profit from the tariff reductions outlined by KORUS:
· Scrap Metal Production
· Computer and Electronics
· Pharmaceuticals
· Cosmetics
· General Manufacturing
Duk-soo also noted that RI's information and telecommunications sector would benefit from increased collaboration with Korean-related industries through more open cost-based access to services and Korean markets.
Duk-soo describes the agreement as "mutually beneficial" to both the U.S. and his home country. The U.S. was once the highest exporter of goods into Korean markets; however, it has now dropped to fourth place. Duk-soo hopes that this agreement will boost the U.S. back on top. The increased trade will increase the U.S.'s GDP by $12 billion in new exports and will create 70,000 new jobs in America.
Although the agreement is initially projected to profit the U.S. economy significantly more than South Korea's economy, Han hopes that the increased competition and more open markets will help Korea reform its economy, motivating their industries to create better products and stronger institutions.
Working Towards a Global Future
Duk-soo also sees his work in promoting stronger U.S.-Korea relations as part of a larger vision of creating a more global civil society. He believes that developing global standards and solutions will be necessary in addressing the increasingly global problems that are beginning to arise, such as global warming and human rights violations. As part of this greater vision, the KORUS free trade agreement requires that both countries enforce their own labor and environmental laws, and has legal mechanisms to ensure enforcement.
President George W. Bush signed and approved the agreement in 2007, but Congress has yet to approve it. President Obama has decided to move forward with the agreement and plans to visit South Korea in November to continue discussion.
Duk-soo was appointed ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States in March 2009. He served as the country's prime minister from 2007-2009 and deputy prime minister from 2005-2007. He graduated from the Department of Economics at Seoul National University and received a Masters and Doctorate in economics from Harvard University.
For more information on the KORUS Free Trade Agreement, visit http://www.koreauspartnership.org.
