With the leaders of Korea and the United States set to hold a bilateral summit on Nov. 19th, 88 U.S. congressmen from both the Democratic and Republican parties wrote to the White House last Friday calling for prompt ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA). The same day, Lawrence Summers, director of the White House's National Economic Council, told a gathering of American and Korean business officials, "The U.S. government is preparing for the ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement."
 
 Korea and the U.S. signed the bilateral trade pact in June of 2007. But two and a half years later, the FTA still remains unratified. In January, a standing committee at the Korean National Assembly passed the bilateral free trade pact amid violent clashes between ruling and opposition parties and submitted it to the plenary session of parliament for ratification. But in the U.S., the FTA has not even been presented to Congress and has been on hold since the 2008 presidential election. U.S. President Barack Obama voiced dissatisfaction over the FTA while running for the presidency, saying the automotive and beef portions of the agreement were “unfair.” After entering office, Obama has put priority on health care reform and other domestic issues, leaving the bill sitting in Congress.

As a way to deal with the global economic crisis, the U.S. has led efforts to oppose protectionism and maintain solidarity among the G20 member nations. It would be unreasonable for U.S. officials to reject the deal with Korea while stressing the need for global economic recovery and international trade. The U.S. would also miss out on real benefits of the FTA, such as the so-called "first-mover advantage," where companies that are the first to enter a particular market reap the benefits of investment and trade. Korea has already moved forward in seeking similar international trade agreements with India and the European Union. If the ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade deal continues to be delayed and other foreign companies enter the Korean market fist, then U.S. businesses will be the ones suffering losses. The ratification of the FTA must top the agenda during the upcoming Seoul-Washington summit.