Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on the announcement from the United States Trade Representative that the trade agreement between the United States and South Korea will go into effect on March 15. Grassley and others have long-awaited the trade agreement for its significant benefits to U.S. farmers, businesses, and services providers. Congress approved the trade agreement's implementing legislation in October 2011 after long delays in President Obama's submission of the legislation to Congress. Upon approval of the implementing legislation, the President was authorized "to exchange notes with Korea providing for the entry into force at such time as the President determines that Korea has taken measures necessary to comply with provisions of the agreement that are to take effect on the date of the entry into force," according to the trade representative's office. Grassley is a senior member of the Finance Committee, with jurisdiction over international trade, and former chairman and ranking member of the committee.
Grassley comment:
"This is good news. U.S. workers deserve the boost from this new market access. They'll rise to the challenge with quality goods and services. The implementation of this trade agreement was a long time in coming. It's ironic that the same Administration that was slow to present the implementing legislation gave the agreement such a fast turn-around from legislative approval to the effective date. I hope the speed of implementation doesn't cause problems. Anything that's not spelled out now could be the source of trade disputes later."