WASHINGTON — The Michigan lawmakers who lead the powerful House Ways and Means committee warned that efforts to salvage a U.S.-South Korea trade deal will succeed only if it addresses what they called "the dangerously lopsided trade in automotive vehicles," The Wall Street Journal reported.
Michigan Reps. Sander Levin, the Democrat currently chairing the House Ways and Means committee, and Dave Camp, the Michigan Republican who is expected to take over as chairman in the next Congress, said in a joint statement Thursday that further talks with South Korea "will succeed only if South Korea adopts concrete steps to open its market to U.S. exports."
"While there are other unresolved issues, nowhere is this more evident than in the dangerously lopsided trade in automotive vehicles," the lawmakers said.
The lawmakers' comments came hours after President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said their negotiators had failed to agree on revisions to a proposed bilateral trade opening deal that's been languishing since 2007.
The lawmakers' statement echoes concerns expressed by Detroit auto makers Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, along with the United Auto Workers. The Ways and Means committee would be among those with jurisdiction over the agreement should Mr. Obama try to move it forward.
Separately, a leading U.S. business group said it would "pull out all the stops" to lobby for quick passage of a deal.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in a statement it was "disappointed" at Thursday's outcome but believes progress has been made and differences "narrowed."
"We urge both presidents to direct their ministers and staff to resolve remaining details with the greatest possible speed and urgency," the Chamber said. "Time is of the essence. American jobs are on the line."
The Chamber said that with the imminent implementation of a trade deal between South Korea and the European Union, the U.S. could lose 340,000 jobs without its own deal in place.
"The Chamber is ready to pull out all the stops to explain the benefits of this agreement to the American people and help move the pact through Congress," the statement said. "The sooner we get this deal done, the sooner it will start creating new American jobs."
Lori Wallach, a trade expert at government watchdog group Public Citizen, a skeptic of the original U.S.-Korea pact proposed during the George W. Bush administration, called on Obama to ensure the deal wouldn't lead more U.S. companies to move operations overseas, costing American jobs.
