Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- South Korea should “level the playing field” by removing barriers to U.S. automobile sales in order to clear the way for a pending free-trade agreement, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said.

Kirk, in a speech yesterday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said his office is developing proposals for South Korea to consider. Ford Motor Co. is among U.S. automakers calling for changes to South Korean regulations they say discriminate against imports.

“Our market is open to Korean autos,” Kirk said. “All we are asking for is the same for America’s auto industry.”

U.S. automakers sold fewer than 7,000 vehicles in South Korea last year, less than one percent of the market. By contrast, South Korean carmakers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. sold more than 53,000 vehicles in the U.S. last month alone.

President Barack Obama’s visit to South Korea during a trip to Asia next week gives him an opportunity to push for the trade agreement, some lawmakers and business groups have said. Kirk didn’t describe the auto proposals, or say if they would require renegotiating the accord, which has been awaiting congressional approval since 2007.

Reiterating Stance

South Korea today repeated its stance that the deal should be ratified as is. Lee Taeho, director-general of FTA policy for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the agreement is a “balanced text” that reflects U.S. concerns.

The two nations had $83 billion in two-way commerce last year, making the so-called KORUS accord the biggest for the U.S. since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994.

“KORUS can be an important part of the administration’s effort to re-engage Asia,” a bipartisan group of 70 lawmakers said in a letter to be sent to Obama today.

“Preparing KORUS for congressional consideration would continue our partnership with a democratic ally that has a strong record on labor rights and environmental protection,” the lawmakers said in the letter, which was written by Democratic Representative Adam Smith of Washington and signed by more than 35 other Democrats.

Never Submitted

The deal was concluded in July 2007, and signed by ministers from both countries. Because of opposition from Democrats, unions and automakers, President George W. Bush never submitted it to Congress for approval.

Critics, including auto companies and labor unions, say that the trade agreement would give South Korean auto companies guaranteed access to the U.S. market without assurances that American companies can improve sales there. More than three quarters of the $13.4 billion U.S. trade deficit with South Korea is in autos, the AFL-CIO said in a filing to the U.S. trade office.

“Ford believes it is absolutely necessary to level the playing field,” Steve Biegun, vice president for international government affairs at Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford, said in an e-mail. “We appreciate President Obama’s commitment to correct the huge imbalance in US-Korean automotive trade before an FTA is considered.”

Citigroup, ACE

Companies such as Citigroup Inc. and insurance company ACE Ltd. back the trade agreement as a way to crack South Korea’s markets. Those companies say they worry that a recently signed European Union-Korea trade accord may give their competitors an advantage.

“I know that many of you are in competition with those firms, in major sectors like electric machinery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, meats, and many others,” Kirk said. “I can tell you this: We are not standing still.”

“Precisely because our political and economic relationship is so important, we will take whatever time is necessary to get this right,” Kirk said. “And we need the broadest possible political support to move forward.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Drajem in Washington at mdrajem@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: November 6, 2009 00:03 EST