The White House says U.S. President Barack Obama will sign the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) on Friday.

The announcement comes ten days after Congress approved the trade deal. Once signed by Obama, all steps to ratify the trade pact will come to an end in the U.S.

After inking the agreement, Obama will address business and labor leaders in the Rose Garden on the significance and importance of the deal.

South Korea and the U.S. plan to immediately launch consultations on putting the FTA into effect once the South Korean National Assembly ratifies the deal. The two countries want to put the trade pact into effect from January first of next year.