The Washington Post has urged the Obama administration to swiftly ratify the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement.

In an editorial Friday, the U.S. daily said the U.S. risks being left out in the Asia-Pacific market unless it takes steps to reinvigorate its trade policy. The editorial said the first step the U.S. should take is to set the South Korea-U.S. free trade pact on the road to ratification.

The report said that the vast majority of American businesses supported the trade deal, but the United Auto Workers, along with Ford and Chrysler, opposed the deal, insisting on linkage between future U.S. tariff reductions and increased sales of U.S. cars in South Korea.

The report added that the Obama administration is engaged in a "review" of the Korea deal, with the aim of addressing the car issue. But Seoul is not holding its breath, instead concluding an agreement with the European Union (EU) that will give EU-based companies an advantage over U.S. competitors in the trillion-dollar Korean market.

The daily noted that the Asia-Pacific region accounts for more than half of the world's gross domestic product and 44 percent of all global trade, stressing that the region is the destination of most U.S. exports.