About 80 percent of the United States $13 billion trade deficit with Korea is in the auto sector. John Bozzella, vice president for external affairs at Chrysler LLC, said the agreement with Korea would not open its largely closed auto market to imports. 'We simply cannot support the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement in its current form,' Bozzella told the committee, saying it 'is an example of twisting the principles of free trade in a way that harms the interests of the U.S. economy and its workers.' Bozzella said the agreement would 'reward Korea's poor behavior for failing to honor two prior auto trade agreements with the U.S.' Chrysler sold just 4,100 vehicles in Korea, more than either General Motors Corp. or Ford Motor Co. sold there last year. In total, all imports accounted for 5 percent of the Korean auto market last year, but that has increased to 6.5 percent in the first seven months of 2008. Korea automakers exported 70 percent of their production, including 16 percent to the United States. Myron Brilliant, president of the U.S.-Korea Business Council, said the deal is a good one, noting that within three years, 95 percent of U.S. consumer and industrial goods entering Korea will be duty-free. The deal immediately eliminates most of Korea's tariff on U.S. automobiles, 8 percent on passenger vehicles and 10 percent on trucks. It also eliminates the tariff on most auto parts, which is between 3 percent and 8 percent. 'The best way to address the U.S.-Korea auto trade imbalance is through the ratification and implementation of the (deal) and the strict enforcement of its provisions,' Brilliant told the committee. The Korea Free Trade agreement has been stalled for months in Congress over objections that also stem from U.S. cattle farmers who claim the agreement doesn't do enough to open the Korean market to U.S. beef. You can reach David Shepardson at (202) 662 - 8735 or dshepardsondteom.