Wendy Cutler, an assistant trade representative and the lead U.S. negotiator of the pact, said Tuesday that South Korea is pursuing trade accords with Canada and other countries while the U.S. Congress considers the deal.

"Korea is not standing still, waiting for us to approve the FTA," Cutler told an audience at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

The United States and South Korea signed the pact in June after almost a year of difficult negotiations to lower or eliminate tariffs and other trade barriers on a wide range of products and services. The agreement must be endorsed by the legislatures of both countries before it goes into effect.

It is the largest free trade agreement for the United States since the North American Free Trade Agreement more than a decade ago linked the United States, Canada and Mexico.

"Failure to act on this landmark deal would severely damage our credibility in the Asia-Pacific region," Cutler said, and would lead Asia's economies to "conclude that we are an unreliable trading partner."

"The rest of Asia is watching how the Korea debate unfolds in the United States," she said.

Supporters say the accord will boost growth in both countries, but South Korean farmers and others are opposed, saying a flood of U.S. agricultural products would destroy livelihoods in rural areas.

Source: International Herald Tribune

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