U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke this week confirmed the Obama administration's commitment to making progress on stalled trade agreements, especially with South Korea. His comments came while U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk was meeting with South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon to reach a deal on two issues of the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Promotion Agreement that have kept President Obama from sending the pact to Congress.

The agreement, proposed in 2007, has been halted by calls from key companies and legislators to give U.S. car manufacturers increased access to the Korean market and to allow more imports of U.S. beef. The president will travel to South Korea on November 11 for the Group of 20 leaders' summit and hopes to announce while there that the issues have been resolved.

"The administration is absolutely committed to getting the additional pending free trade agreements finalized with Korea, Columbia and Panama," Locke said Tuesday during an address at an export conference in Detroit.

Free Trade Agreements Offer Growth Potential

"IDFA welcomes these developments because free trade agreements offer enormous potential growth in new markets for U.S. dairy products," said John Kelly, IDFA manager of international affairs. "In the first eight months of 2010 alone, the United States exported over $2.3 billion worth of dairy products around the world."

South Korea is an especially attractive market for IDFA members; through August 2010, the value of U.S. dairy exports to South Korea was $84 million, up 78 percent from the same time period last year. If the U.S.-Korea FTA is implemented, the already strong growth potential of the South Korean market will increase dramatically, Kelly predicted. The U.S. International Trade Commission has estimated that the dairy provisions of the agreement would expand U.S. dairy exports by $175 million to $336 million.

FTAs would allow U.S. dairy companies to improve market opportunities and access for their exports. Noting these opportunities for export growth, IDFA strongly supports the passage of the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement.

"Its passage will be a critical step forward for American dairy processors in taking full advantage of global markets, and it should be a priority for the current administration and Congress," Kelly said.

After this week's meeting, Ambassador Kirk and Minister Kim Jong-hoon agreed to hold another discussion ahead of next month's summit. But roadblocks to passage remain. Even if the president announces a finalized agreement during his upcoming visit to South Korea, Congress will still need to ratify the agreement for it to take effect.