U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk says the free trade agreement with South Korea is "the most commercially significant trade agreement the U.S. has concluded in more than 17 years."

At the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Annual Trade Symposium in Washington Tuesday, he said that the U.S.-Korea trade agreement is estimated to increase exports to Korea by eleven billion dollars for product trade alone, which can create at least 70-thousand additional jobs in the U.S.

The deal will also open the Korean market and remove the barriers to U.S. goods, services and investment. He called this an unprecedented opportunity for U.S. companies and workers in agriculture and the service industry to access the South Korean economy which is worth one trillion dollars.

He also took note of a supplemental deal Seoul and Washington reached in December saying "the successfully negotiated new commitments from Korea will provide additional market access and a level playing field for American auto manufacturers and workers exporting to Korea."