A U.S. trade magazine predicts the administration of President Barack Obama will likely submit the pending free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea to Congress in late March or early April to be voted on by the House around late May.

According to World Trade Online, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk is expected to appear at hearings at the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee in mid-February.

While there, he is expected to pave the way for a mock markup of the draft for the implementing bill sometime in March, and the submission of the final implementing legislation soon after, possibly in late March or April.

The magazine says that considering the timetable, a House vote could take place by the end of May, and a Senate vote sometime in June.

The U.S. administration has said that the South Korea-U.S. FTA must pass Congress before July first, which is when South Korea's FTA with the European Union takes effect.