US Congress votes through South Korea trade deal
LONDON. October 13. KAZINFORM US lawmakers have approved a long-delayed free trade agreement with South Korea, calling it the most significant in 16 years.
Both houses of Congress voted in quick succession on Wednesday to approve the agreement, as well as pacts with Panama and Colombia, BBC News said.
It will now go to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.
The agreement is expected to increase US exports to the Asian economy by as much as $10bn (£6.5bn).
President Obama said the pacts with South Korea, Panama and Columbia were "a major win for American workers and businesses".
"Tonight's vote, with bipartisan support, will significantly boost exports that bear the proud label 'Made in America', support tens of thousands of good-paying American jobs and protect labour rights, the environment and intellectual property," he said in a statement.
The free-trade agreement with South Korea is the largest US trade pact since it signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994.
The vote coincided with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's arrival in Washington for an official visit.
In a speech on Wednesday he said the agreement would "send a powerful message to the world that the US and South Korea stand together in rejecting protectionism and that we are open to free and fair trade".
There was nearly $80bn in trade between the US and South Korea last year.
To read mo go to www.bbc.co.uk