WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner defends the free trade deal between the U.S. and South Korea on Tuesday, rejecting President Donald Trump's intention to withdraw from the deal.
"Withdrawing from the South Korea-US Trade Agreement (KORUS) would undermine America's strategic objectives in the Pacific region and undercut our own workers and employers, who continue to depend on the free flow of goods and services between the U.S. and the Republic of Korea," said Boehner, who guided the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement to passage in 2011, in a statement.
U.S. President Trump has long blamed the KORUS for U.S. trade deficit with South Korea, a stance rejected by Seoul.
The two sides last month held the first special session of the Joint Committee under the KORUS FTA to discuss trade imbalance, but failed to reach any agreement.
According to U.S. media, the Trump administration was considering initiating the process of withdrawing from the trade deal last week. The move was seen by some analysts as an endeavor of gaining bargaining leverage over South Korea in the renegotiation of the deal.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a bipartisan group of congressional leaders urged the Trump administration not to withdraw from the free trade deal in a joint statement last week.
"For our strategic endeavors to succeed, however, the United States must strengthen - not weaken - its already vital economic relationships in the Pacific, from South Korea and Japan to Australia and China," said Boehner.
