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John McCain, the shoo-in candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, has expressed his support for the free trade agreement between Korea and the United States, calling Korea an ally of ¡°profound strategic importance.¡± In a speech at the National Restaurant Association convention in Chicago on Monday, McCain vowed, ¡°If I am elected president, this country will honor its international agreements, including NAFTA.¡±
He vowed not to ¡°undo the gains of years in trade agreements now awaiting final approval,¡± such as FTAs with Colombia and Korea. McCain slammed Barack Obama, the likely candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination, for his take on the FTAs. ¡°Senator Obama calls that agreement, too, ¡®bad for American workers¡¯ -- never mind the workers right here in Illinois who made the US$750 million in goods exported to Korea last year,¡± McCain said.
McCain said Obama seemed to be unaware of the importance of the long-standing relationship between the U.S. and Korea, ¡°an ally that deployed the third largest contingent of troops to Iraq, and has helped us in the rebuilding of Afghanistan as well.¡± He warned this ¡°partnership in a dangerous part of the world could be harmed by casting aside our trade agreement with South Korea.¡± Obama has expressed opposition to the Korea-U.S. FTA unless the agreement on the automotive industry is renegotiated.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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