South Korea and USA finalize Free-Trade Agreement; provides strong IP protection

The long-awaited Free-Trade Agreement between the USA and South Korea, which had been stalled to a large extent because of the interests of the pharmaceutical industry, has at last been concluded, making it the latest under the US presidential Trade-Promotion Authority (Marketletters passim), the Office of the US Trade Representative announced earlier this month.

The agreement was concluded April 1, the last day the TPA allows the president to submit free-trade agreements to Congress for an up or down vote, without amendments. Congress has 90 days to consider the deal before TPA expires on June 30.

With the pending expiration of the TPA, also called fast-track authority, the USA does not plan to start any new FTA negotiations, said Sean McCormack, state department spokesman. Fast-track authority was granted to President George W Bush in 2001, when the House of Representatives was controlled by Republicans. With Democrats now in control in Congress, renewal of the TPA is uncertain.