South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said on Wednesday the United States will be sending an important message on its commitment to free trade if it finally advances a pact it signed with Seoul on opening their markets.

The United States and South Korea are trying to resolve concerns over beef and automobile exports blocking U.S. congressional approval of a free trade agreement by November 10, when President Barack Obama arrives in Seoul for a summit.

Following is a description of the beef and auto provisions and concerns U.S. lawmakers have raised:

The Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) requires Seoul to phase out its 40 percent tariff on U.S. beef over 15 years.

However, when the deal was struck, Seoul still had not completely lifted a ban on U.S. beef imposed after the discovery of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), in the U.S. cattle herd in 2003.

In the hope of winning U.S. congressional approval of KORUS, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's government agreed in April 2008 to allow imports of all cuts of U.S. boneless and bone-in beef and other beef products from all ages of cattle, as long as specified materials known to transmit BSE were removed and other conditions were met.

The deal caused a political backlash in South Korea, as tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets because of perceived safety concerns. Lee's popularity plummeted.

To stop the turmoil, the two governments in June 2008 confirmed a "voluntary private sector" arrangement allowing South Korean firms to import U.S. beef produced only from cattle less than 30 months old, considered to be the most safe from BSE.

But key U.S. lawmakers, including Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, still want South Korea to accept all cuts of U.S. beef, irrespective of cattle age...