(Washington D.C.)- Rep. Sander Levin issued the following statement regarding the International Trade Commission (ITC)’s Report:  U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement: Potential Economy-wide and Selected Sectoral Effects.

“I am pleased to see the ITC acknowledge the many games Korea has played to keep its markets closed to imports in sectors ranging from autos and medical devices to household appliances and semiconductors.  I am also pleased the Commission acknowledges that Korea has failed to honor the commitments it made to eliminate non-tariff barriers in past agreements.  Critically, the report also confirms that, in the Korean auto market, where Korean automakers control more than 95% of the market, the effect of Korea’s commitment to remove these barriers is likely to be “minimal.”

“The U.S. enters into free trade agreements to open a foreign country’s markets to U.S. goods and services, and this FTA fails to accomplish that goal.  By failing to remove the economic iron curtain around the Korean market, the FTA locks in one way trade at the expense of U.S. businesses and workers.  It sends a terrible message to our trading partners.

“Until the free trade agreement is renegotiated to address this serious problem, and guarantee that all American businesses will see real benefits from the agreement, I will continue to vigorously oppose it.”

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