Ford Launches Ad Blitz Against Korea Trade Deal

VOA Breaking News (Voice of America)
November 4, 2010 at 6:30 am

U.S. newspapers say Ford Motor Company is mounting an advertising blitz against a free trade agreement with South Korea, just as negotiators for the two countries are meeting in Seoul to finalize the agreement.

Daily newspapers in Detroit, where Ford is headquartered, said advertisements would begin appearing Thursday in major newspapers in the U.S. capital and elsewhere. The ads demand changes in the trade agreement, saying more than 50 cars are shipped from South Korea to the United States for every car that goes the other way.

The free trade deal has been stalled since its signing 2007 because of U.S. concerns about trade in autos and American beef.

However the countries have pledged an all-out effort to resolve their differences before a G20 summit in South Korea next week.

The deputy U.S. trade representative, Wendy Cutler, is in Seoul for two days of talks on the issue. Trade Representative Ron Kirk is to meet early next week with South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon in hopes of finalizing the deal.

The U.S. Republican Party, which made major gains in Congressional elections Tuesday, is generally more supportive of free trade that the Democratic Party which enjoys support from labor unions.

But a leading Republican, Dave Camp, said Wednesday that South Korea will have to do more to open its market if it expects the U.S. Congress to approve the deal.

South Korea so far has been reluctant to re-open the hard-won agreement, arguing that it already has made politically costly compromises.

Some information in this story was provided by AP.