White House pushing approval of South Korea trade deal by July

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Thursday that the Obama administration is working towards having the South Korea trade deal approved by mid-summer.

Speaking at a panel discussion hosted by the centrist think tank Third Way, Kirk said the administration’s goal is to have the agreement voted on by Congress before July 1 — the date a trade deal between South Korea and the European Union (EU) goes into effect. 

"You can reasonably surmise that our goal is to have this agreement presented to Congress, go through hearings and voted on before the EU-KORUS deal goes into effect July 1,” Kirk said. 

Kirk cautioned that he did not want to get too far out in front of President Obama, who is likely to bring up the trade deal in his State of the Union address later this month. But the former Dallas mayor said there have been "almost daily conversations" with the relevant committee chairmen on Capitol Hill to help push the trade deal through Congress. 

“Everything we are doing in terms of finalizing the text with the Koreans, working with committees is with that July 1 deadline in mind,” Kirk said. 

Kirk said if the EU’s trade deal with Korea was to go into effect before the United States finalizes its own agreement, it would give EU manufacturers “a huge competitive advantage.”

Kirk and others in the Obama administration have worked hard to build a coalition in support of the trade deal. Powerful business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers have come out in support of the deal, and prior opponents like the automaker Ford are also now on board. 

To help win automakers’ support, the White House renegotiated the deal and won some concessions from the Koreans. For example, tariffs on Korean cars will be phased out over five years instead of being eliminated immediately. In addition, Korean environmental and safety rules will be changed to allow U.S. cars to enter their market.

Changes like that also helped split labor, which traditionally opposes trade agreements. The United Auto Workers (UAW) and the United Food and Commercial Workers are supporting the trade deal, while the AFL-CIO and other labor groups are against. 

Kirk praised House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.), the panel’s ranking member, as well as Chrysler, Ford and UAW President Bob King for being honest brokers in the trade negotiations. 

Kirk said he had to give “a lot of credit to Bob King.”

"Both sides said, 'If you can achieve these things, we will stand up with you,' " Kirk said. "And when we did, I'm telling you, Bob King was absolutely courageous in saying 'We asked you to achieve these things and you did. Now I will stand up and support you.' "