Asia trade progress

Kansas City Star: Two-way commercial agreements such as the proposed free-trade pact with South Korea are not as valuable as a larger global deal would be. But they are clearly preferable to paralysis on the trade front.
Exports are increasingly important to the U.S. economy, and bilateral deals help open doors overseas for American products. If approved by Congress, the pact with South Korea would be the first free-trade agreement with a major Asian economy.
Analysts estimate that the deal would boost two-way trade by 20 billion and add up to 43 billion to the U.S. economy.
Nearly 95 percent of the commerce between South Korea and the United States would become duty-free within three years. Most remaining tariffs would phase out over the ensuing decade.
The pact would increase markets for key products from the Midwest, including corn, soybeans, processed foods and autos.
Disappearing tariffs
Ford and Chrysler, joined by the United Auto Workers, say the agreement doesn't do enough. Yet the agreement would remove many South Korean taxes and other barriers to American-made cars. Over 10 years, the United States would phase out its 25 percent tariff on truck imports, but South Korea's truck duty would zero out immediately. South Korean tariffs on auto parts would also disappear immediately.
Four years ago, Seoul blocked U.S. beef shipments after a case of mad-cow disease was found in the United States. Under the proposed agreement, Seoul agreed to resume beef imports, assuming the World Organization on Animal Health endorses the safety of American meat. That ruling is expected next month. South Korea's 40 percent beef tariff would phase out over 15 years.