"Persistence pays off. In this case, the result is fair market access for the United States with one of our trading partners. It is critical that the administration continue breaking down these kinds of nontariff trade barriers which work against the momentum for free and fair trade," Grassley said. He is chairman of the Senate International Trade Subcommittee.
Effective this month, the government of the Republic of Korea has decided to take the steps necessary to allow Maytag to export to Korea its Neptune-model high efficiency clothes washers. This follows resistance for over a year and a-half by Korean officials to allow the sale of this Iowa- made product in Korea, despite international rules banning the use of technical trade barriers like those used by South Korea.
Grassley's effort to break down the nontariff trade barrier that Korea had erected against these appliances began one year ago, when he asked U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky to request that the Korean government open its market to U.S. exports. At that time, the U.S. government was asked to help support the Korean economy through the International Monetary Fund. In a March 1998 letter to Barshefsky, Grassley suggested that the assistance be used as leverage to achieve market access. Grassley did not receive a response to this inquiry.
Trade enforcement hearings on Capitol Hill earlier this year presented the next opportunity taken by Grassley. In February, Grassley urged Commerce Secretary William M. Daley to negotiate with the Korean authorities to allow shipment of these appliances. The Neptune washing machines are equipped with internal electric transformers and therefore operational in Korea.
Grassley also asked Daley to visit his office in advance of a business development mission the Commerce Secretary took to Korea last month. During the meeting, Grassley won a commitment from Daley to raise the matter with Korean officials at the highest level.
The success achieved by Daley at Grassley's urging was announced in an April 8 letter to Grassley from the Korean Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Lee Hong-koo. "I have been aware of your ongoing concern regarding this issue, and therefore am particularly delighted that it has been resolved to our mutual satisfaction. I sincerely hope that this positive development will contribute to the continued expansion of trade and the strengthening of economic relations between Korea and the State of Iowa," Hong-koo wrote.