The Bush administration must notify Congress by March 31 of its intent to sign a free trade agreement with South Korea so that it can have the deal considered by lawmakers under “fast track” Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), which is set to expire June 30. TPA requires Congress to consider trade agreements without amendments and to act on them within 90 days of being submitted.

In a statement submitted today to the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, which held a hearing on the ongoing trade negotiations between the U.S. and South Korea, NPPC pointed out that although the Asian nation is the fourth largest export market for U.S. pork, a free trade agreement between South Korea and Chile could put America’s pork industry at a competitive disadvantage.

Korean import tariffs on many pork products supplied by Chile have been declining under the terms of the FTA, which took effect in 2004. Chilean pork will receive unlimited duty-free access by 2014.

“South Korea is an important export market for U.S. pork producers, but further growth is imperiled by increased South Korean imports of Chilean pork,” said NPPC President Jill Appell, a pork producer from Altona, Ill. “The United States must step up to the plate and deliver aggressive tariff cuts on all U.S. pork and pork products.”

The U.S. last February entered trade negotiations with South Korea, a country where pork constitutes about 45 percent of daily meat protein consumption.