speaking to reporters in a briefing on wednesday, trade representative ron kirk said the united states is exceptionally frustrated with japan's restrictions on u.s. beef. japan currently bans imports of u.s. beef from cattle age 21 month or older. the age group most likely to be affected by bse, or mad cow disease. kirk said he understands the political dynamics in japan of the recent change in political leadership, but he describes the current import ban as unscientific and says it should be scrapped for that reason. kirk referred to south korea's ban on imports of u.s. beef from cattle aged 31 month or older. he said restrictions that are stricter than this are not acceptable. >>> now back to the main news with catherine. >> thanks very much, ines. >>> pakistan's aviation authority is investigating wednesday's passenger plane crash near islamabad say poor weather may be to blame. survivors have yet to be found. the airblue airbus carrying 152 people heading for islamabad from karachi in the south crashed into a hilly area north of the pakistani capital as it prepared to land. with th

trade representative ron kirk to resolve issues with the korean free trade agreement before my visit to them in december. it will create new jobs and opportunities in both of our countries. we also want to deepen and broaden our relations with panama and colombia. we're working to resolve outstanding issues with the free trade agreements with boesky partners. we're focused on submitting them for congressional consideration. we will make sure that each agreement will pursue does not just advance the interest of our businesses, workers, and farmers but also upholds our most cherished values. fourth, as we help american businesses access new markets, we are making sure that the access is free and fair. the united states offers some of the world's lowest barriers to trade. when we get other countries the privilege of that free and fair access, we expect in return. where american producers face unfair trade practices, we will use every tool at our disposal. the wto last week ruled in favor of the united states about airbus manufacturers. this ruling will help keep the playing field level

we cannot have done this without the leadership and efforts of ron kirk and i turn it over to him. >> tom, and secretary block, thank you for your leadership. let me speak briefly to underscore a couple points made by secretary vilsack and locke. the entire cabinet has come together under the leadership of our president to work together seamlessly to try and help grow the american economy by increasing our exports with the express goal of adding 2 million jobs along the way if we can do so. underlying that is an understanding that 95% of the world boxing consumers live outside of the united states. whether you make something, grow something, or provide a service, if you are going to continue to grow, it will be important that we have access to those markets. our role at the trade representative's office is to do everything we can to make sure we have access to these emerging markets and some of the developed markets. we have the privilege of working in concert with the secretary of commercc and his international development team. we work hand in hand with the department of agriculture

trade representative ron kirk to begin discussions to help resolve outstanding issues with the pendingkorean free trade agreement before my visit to korea in november. it's an agreement that will create new jobs and opportunity for people in both of our countries. we also want to deepen and broaden our relations with panama and colombia. so we're working to resolve outstanding issues with the free trade agreements with those key partners, and we're focused on submitting them as soon as possible for congressional consideration. and we'll make sure each agreement we pursue doesn't just advance the interests of our businesses, workers, and farmers, but also upholds our most cherished values. fourth, as we help american businesses access new markets, we're making sure that the access is free and fair. the united states offers some of the world's lowest barriers to trade, and when we give other countries the privilege of that free and fair access, we expect it in return. where american producers face unfair trade practices, we'll use every tool at our disposal to enforce trade agreements. l