US and South Korea reach deal on free-trade pact

The deal comes after both countries spent months ironing out differences over imports of beef, cars and other concerns since Obama came into office in early 2009.
The countries' two trade negotiators resolved their last differences over the last four days meeting in the US state of Maryland, outside the nation's capital.

The free trade agreement will still have to be approved by both countries' legislatures before taking effect, and ratification could prove difficult in the US Congress, where Obama's own Democratic Party has been sceptical of the benefits of free trade.
Obama called it a "landmark" trade deal that "deepens the strong alliance between the US and the Republic of Korea and reinforces American leadership in the Asia Pacific".
South Korea is the US's eighth largest trading partner and the pact would mark the largest US trade deal since the 1994 NAFTA pact with Mexico and Canada.

A deal would also help Obama meet a commitment to double US exports in five years and burnish his credibility amid scepticism in many business corners over the president's commitment to free trade.

The South Korea deal was first negotiated under former president George W. Bush. It was approved by South Korea's parliament but was never ratified by US lawmakers.
Obama re-opened talks when he came into office, looking for more concessions on US exports of beef and cars into the Asian power. But negotiators failed to meet a goal of agreeing to a new deal by the time of Obama's visit to South Korea last month.
US business groups have been clamouring for the two sides to resolve their differences and on Friday welcomed news that a deal had been struck.

But there were already signs that the pact could face resistance within Obama's own left-leaning Democratic Party, which has typically been more sceptical of the benefits of free trade.

Congressman Mike Michaud, a leading Democrat on trade issues, said the deal did not seem to meet concerns beyond beef and cars. Michaud in a statement said he would "do whatever I can to defeat it".