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South Korea will likely be able to buy American weapons faster and cheaper, after intense lobbying from its government, congressional supporters and the Bush administration.
Seoul is the third-largest buyer of U.S. weapons systems, and plans to purchase more than $57 billion worth of military equipment from the U.S. by 2020.
Supporters argue that South Korea — a strong American ally — has to deal with a long, restrictive and cumbersome foreign sales process that some other countries have not had to go through for years.
NATO countries, along with Japan, Australia and New Zealand, have been granted a faster track for military sales. New NATO members automatically enjoy the more advantageous status.
The House has already passed legislation that would give South Korea the same privileged sales status as the above countries, known as NATO-Plus-Three.
The fate of the bill now rests in the Senate, which, at press time, planned to adopt the legislation by unanimous consent this week, perhaps as early as Tuesday evening.
The agreement is seen as not only boosting an already strong relationship with the East Asian country, but also creating a boon to U.S. defense companies seeking to sell their wares overseas to a country willing to spend billions.
The congressional outcome will be the result of an intense push by the Bush administration, particularly Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The Korean Embassy has been closely involved in the issue.
Korean War veterans have also closely supported the issue, and the head of U.S. forces in Korea, Army Gen. B.B. Bell, said in testimony earlier this year that it is “bizarre and strange” that other countries enjoy a higher sales status, but not South Korea.
Foreign military sales center on the government-to-government method for selling U.S. defense equipment, services and training, rather than buying weapons directly from various defense enterprises.
In April, the new South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, talked to President Bush about upgrading his country’s status to the NATO-Plus-Three level.
Supporters argue that Korea has been a steadfast U.S. non–NATO ally, spending billions of dollars for American-made weapons systems. The legislation that would grant them a more privileged status in many ways would be symbolic, particularly after Korea was not granted a free trade agreement, said a congressional source.
The legislation has had some strong support both in the House and Senate, particularly from Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) and Reps. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), who spearheaded the efforts to see Korea’s status changed.
The chairmen and ranking members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee saw the importance of the effort and shepherded legislation through their respective panels.
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