Korea-U.S. Trade Deal Bad for Workers in Both Countries

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/04/02/korea%e2%80%93us-trade-deal-bad-for-workers-in-both-countries/

Korea-U.S. Trade Deal Bad for Workers in Both Countries

by James Parks, Apr 2, 2007

The AFL-CIO will join with its Korean allies and strongly oppose the just-completed South Korea-U.S. trade deal (KORUS) completed over the weekend because of the damage it will do to working families, farmers and domestic producers in both countries.

Negotiators worked down to the wire to seal the deal before the end of April 1, so it could meet a 90-day required notice period for Congress. By meeting the deadline, the Bush White House can have the deal considered under Fast Track trade promotion authority, which expires June 30.


Workers in Seattle protest the Korea-U.S. trade agreement last September.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says the flawed deal, which would be the largest trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994,

contains no enforceable protections for core workers’ rights, and it will undermine both governments’ ability to provide affordable and high-quality public and social services, and to protect food safety, the environment and public health.

Further, Sweeney says:

Rushing these important negotiations to meet the deadline for consideration under the current Fast Track authority virtually ensures that issues important to both countries have been railroaded through, without adequate consultation or consideration.

Alan Reuther, UAW government affairs director, told the House Ways and Means Committee a few weeks ago the deal likely will jeopardize tens of thousands of U.S. auto jobs by further opening the U.S. auto market to Korean cars while failing to address the barriers to the sale of U.S. automobiles in Korea. The United States already has a $14 billion trade deficit with South Korea, and almost $12 billion of that is in autos and auto parts.

While details of the agreement have not been made public yet, Sweeney says workers are “deeply concerned” about reports that the agreement allows South Korea to export products made in the industrial zone in the North Korean border city of Kaesong.

Workers in Kaesong have no ability whatsoever to exercise their basic human rights to freedom of association, to organize and to bargain collectively. They are essentially indentured servants of the North Korean government—not allowed to collect wages directly from their South Korean employers, but paid only by the North Korean government after arbitrary and excessive deductions. In our view, it is completely unacceptable for products made under these repressive conditions to receive preferential access to the U.S. market. This has human rights implications, economic implications and national security implications.

President Bush is pushing hard to renew Fast Track, which allows the president to negotiate trade deals but prevents Congress from improving or rejecting harmful provisions by allowing only “yes” or “no” votes on such agreements. Fast Track would enable the Bush administration to pass more bad trade deals that are skewed in favor of Big Business, not workers.

FULL story at link.

[PDJane]

1. Yes. It is.

Such agreements are bad for anyone except the very rich.

[madrchsod]

2. north korean slave labor??

i thought north korea is part of the axis of evil....oh wait-money trumps peace

[Rydz777]

3. Sen. Baucus

I believe Sen. Baucus (D-Montana) is scuttling this trade deal in the Senate. He needs our encouragement.

[On the Road]

4. I Would Guess This Had Something to Do

with the recent arms agreement with North Korea.