S. Korea welcome to join TPP: U.S. commerce secretary

By Kim You Jin

SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. point person on commerce said Thursday that South Korea is "welcome" to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a regional free trade agreement among Asia-Pacific countries that Seoul has been considering getting on board.

"The United States government welcomes Korea's interest in TPP," said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker during a luncheon in Seoul, hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea and the Korea International Trade Association.

Pritzker has come to South Korea for the first time since taking office earlier last year, heading a delegation of 20 U.S. business executives from health care and energy-related firms to discuss bilateral ties.

"It's something that we've spent time very consciously, making sure that the Korean government officials are aware of the status of what's happening with TPP, so they don't feel something is happening without their understanding," Pritzker said.

South Korea has been weighing whether to join the TPP, an agreement meant to provide the U.S. economy a stronger foothold in Asia, having already expressed its interest to take part in November last year.

The Seoul government still remains undecided, but Yoon Sang-jik, South Korea's Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, will be visiting the U.S. in December and meet with people from the commerce ministry to get an update on the overall TPP progress, according to Pritzker.

The TPP has yet to be concluded, one of the reasons why the U.S. official put the issue at the center in her Tokyo trip earlier this week during the first part of her trade mission to Asia.

However, Pritzker also hinted that the discussions on the deal is in the "eighth or ninth inning of its process," adding that after all the complicated negotiations among 12 different parties, they are near reaching a consensus.

"When you get to the end, those are always the toughest of issues, it's not like you would leave the easiest issues to last," she said. "So that's where we're at, and the reason it was such a big topic in Japan is there's a real belief that if Japan and the United States can get over the last issues that we have, that that would be an impetus to get the agreement finished."

Underlining Washington's positive stance on Seoul's potential participation in TPP, the U.S. official later said, "Keep in mind (the TPP pact) is an open platform, and it welcomes additional parties once the deal is finished."

In regards to economic cooperation, the commerce secretary said deeper ties between South Korea and the United States are "essential" in uplifting growth not just in the two countries, but also for the entire world.

"Our bilateral commercial and economic partnership is essential to promoting prosperity in each other's countries, in the Asia Pacific and around the world," she said.

"With our shared focus on entrepreneurship and innovation, with our shared commitment to working closer together to build a future for economic growth, there can be no doubt the United States and South Korea are leaders in the global economy."

The secretary also highlighted the importance of nurturing a new generation of entrepreneurs as a means for future economic growth, noting that the U.S. is open to helping realize the "creative economy," a part of the Seoul government's plans to boost growth.

"I am proud to lead the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship, (which) brings leading American entrepreneurs to the table to offer mentorship and guidance to young entrepreneurs in the United States and around the globe," Pritzker said.

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