FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 19, 2009

Isakson Urges Support for United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement
Also Praises Kia Investment in Georgia

WASHINGTON – Citing the benefits to the state of Georgia and the nation, U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today voiced his support for the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement as President Obama met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul.

“Approving the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement will enhance both economies by growing markets for U.S. and Korean goods and services, creating jobs in both countries and strengthening an already strong relationship with one of the United States’ most important allies in the East Asian region,” said Isakson, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

South Korea is the seventh-largest U.S. trading partner. In 2007, two-way trade in goods and services totaled $101 billion. In Georgia, goods and services exported to South Korea total more than $390 million, making it Georgia’s 12th largest trading partner. 

Isakson also praised the investment by South Korea’s Kia Motors in a new automobile production facility in West Point, Ga.

“This week, the first Kia Sorrento vehicles were completed at the West Point facility, where 1,200 jobs have already been created and an estimated 1,300 additional jobs will be created in the coming years,” Isakson said. “The impact on the local economy by the West Point facility is estimated to be around $6.5 billion over the next three years, which is already having a transformative effect on a community that was facing very hard economic times before the Kia facility came along.” 

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