Hats off to Obama & Co. on South Korea Trade Deal

[SanJoaquinSooner]

The overall agreement would eliminate tariffs on more than 95 percent of industrial and consumer goods within five years. The U.S. International Trade Commission estimated that would increase exports of U.S. goods by at least $10 billion. The deal would also open up South Korea's vast $560 billion services markets to U.S. companies.

I assume the new congress will be able to get this approved.

[mgsooner]

Dirty Socialist!!!!!!!!!!

[SanJoaquinSooner]

Dirty Socialist!!!!!!!!!!

it's anti-socialist behavior on Obama's part.

[jiminy]

It was Bush's idea

[pphilfran]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/04/steelworkers-not-jumping-_n_792060.html

Obama said he held off earlier because "the deal wasn't good enough." A few weeks later, negotiators came to an agreement Obama said would be a "win-win" for both countries and would create 70,000 American jobs.

"I'm not interested in signing trade agreements for the sake of trading agreements," Obama said. "I'm interested in agreements that create jobs."

The agreement was initially negotiated by President George W. Bush in 2007, but it failed in Congress. Obama was critical of the potential trade agreement with South Korea during his 2008 presidential campaign, claiming he would "not sign another trade agreement unless it has protections for our environment and protections for American workers" during a February 2008 campaign speech at a General Motors plant.

The new agreement, though, primarily tweaked protections for U.S. auto manufacturer styles -- leaving many of the problems Obama campaigned against intact, said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch.

"Merely tweaking the 'cars and cows' market access provisions of Bush's NAFTA-style Korea trade pact but leaving in place the offshoring-promoting foreign investor protections is a slap in the face to the majority of Americans who, according to repeated polls, oppose the same old trade policy that has cost millions of American jobs," Wallach said in a statement.

The auto industry had been critical of the previous agreement. Ford Motor Company argued the 2007 version of the agreement would hurt U.S. auto manufacturers by immediately cutting truck tariffs and allowing many South Korean auto makers to export duty-free into the United States.

"We believe in free trade, and this isn't it," Ford wrote in advertisements leading up to Obama's November trip to South Korea. "In fact, Ford has supported every trade agreement approved by Congress since 1965 -- until this one."

Now, though, South Korean negotiators agreed to delay some tariff changes by at least five years, allowing U.S. auto makers to benefit from increased trade without South Korean manufacturers flooding the U.S. auto market. The agreement will leave a 2.5 percent tariff on auto imports into the United States in place until the fifth year instead of allowing South Korea to immediately export cars to the U.S. without tariffs.

Alan Mulallay, Ford CEO, said in a statement Friday he applauds the revised agreement.

The U.S. International Trade Commission has estimated the tariff cuts would increase exports of American goods by about $10 billion.

[pphilfran]

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/03/131790809/u-s--south-korea-trade-deal-largest-since-nafta

South Korea is agreeing to allow the U.S. to lift a 2.5 percent tariff on Korean cars in five years, instead of cutting the tariff immediately. The agreement also allows each U.S. automaker to export 25,000 cars to South Korea as long as they meet U.S. federal safety standards and allows the U.S. to continue a 25 percent tariff on trucks for eight years and then phase it out by the 10th year. South Korea would be required to eliminate its 10 perent tariff on U.S. trucks immediately.

The U.S. and South Korea reached a landmark deal in 2007 that slashed tariffs and other barriers to commerce. But the pact has been in limbo since then, due in part to political changes in both countries and the Obama administration's demands that South Korea make concessions on trade in autos and beef.

Bilateral trade between South Korea and the U.S. totaled $66.7 billion in 2009, down sharply from $84.7 billion in 2008 as global commerce suffered during the economic downturn.

The South Korea deal has been widely supported by those in the private sector and the Chamber of Commerce, which has criticized other administration policies as anti-business.

"This trade agreement, once finalized, will provide jobs, products, and renewed sense of partnership to both the United States and South Korea," said Cody Lusk, president of the American International Automobile Dealers Association.

But Lori Wallach, director of the liberal-leaning advocacy group Public Citizen, criticized the deal, saying it would lead foreign investors to move U.S. jobs overseas and put Obama's political future in peril.

"Choosing to advance Bush's NAFTA-style Korea free trade agreement rather than the new trade policy President Obama promised during his campaign will mean more American job loss and puts the White House at odds with the majority of Americans who, polling shows, oppose more-of-the-same job offshoring agreements," Wallach said in a statement.

[47straight]

SJS, how unprogressive of you.

[PDXsooner]

Wait, the Republicans couldn't think of a way to block this??? What the hell!!!!

[SanJoaquinSooner]

SJS, how unprogressive of you.

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[S.PadreIsl.Sooner]

Now we need to hope the N. Korea doesn't get pissed and start dropping nukes on their neighbor to the south.

[soonercruiser]

Now, if we could just get Obama's attention on the deficit (not having someone else come up with the ideas and the blame), jobs, and closing GITMO this decade!

Joe BiteMe's reaction proves that they don't have a clue on the economy and jobs! :(

[SanJoaquinSooner]

Now, if we could just get Obama's attention on the deficit (not having someone else come up with the ideas and the blame), jobs, and closing GITMO this decade!

Joe BiteMe's reaction proves that they don't have a clue on the economy and jobs! :(

Yeah, I'm pessimistic on deficit reduction too. Both parties negotiate in bad faith. The democrats won't get serious about reducing entitlements and the republicans won't budge on letting tax cuts expire on millionaires. We'll see about cutting military spending.

and the pubs are agreeing to extend the unemployment benefits for another year in exchange for extending the tax cuts for the wealthy!!!

The donks should call their bluffs and let all tax cuts expire AND THEN introduce legislation for retroactive tax cuts for all under $ 1,000,000. It would force the pubs to be the bad guys or compromise.




On the jobs front, seems like businesses with an export angle will lead the way. Sell products and services that Asia wants.

Here in California we produced over a billion pounds of walnuts and at first there was worry of a surplus. The damned Asians bought everything in site. Zero surplus this year.

[soonercruiser]

Yeah, I'm pessimistic on deficit reduction too. Both parties negotiate in bad faith. The democrats won't get serious about reducing entitlements and the republicans won't budge on letting tax cuts expire on millionaires. We'll see about cutting military spending.

and the pubs are agreeing to extend the unemployment benefits for another year in exchange for extending the tax cuts for the wealthy!!!

The donks should call their bluffs and let all tax cuts expire AND THEN introduce legislation for retroactive tax cuts for all under $ 1,000,000. It would force the pubs to be the bad guys or compromise.

On the jobs front, seems like businesses with an export angle will lead the way. Sell products and services that Asia wants.

Here in California we produced over a billion pounds of walnuts and at first there was worry of a surplus. The damned Asians bought everything in site. Zero surplus this year.

If the Demoncrats let the tax cuts expire - they will take the blame for, and predise over a second severe dip of recession.
Unemployment will top 10% by March!