Korea-US Free Trade Agreement Two Years Out: Promise vs. Reality
Before the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) was adopted, a lot of promises were made. This deal would result in more U.S. jobs and bigger markets for U.S. goods in Korea, we were told. The problems of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would be fixed, we were promised.
March 15 marks the second anniversary of this deal, and two years out, reality doesn't match up with any of those promises. That's a lesson that hasn't been lost on working families, consumers, greens and other citizen groups. And that's why there is such strong, and growing, opposition by ordinary Americans to another trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
In 2013, under the first full year of the Korean Free Trade Agreement, the U.S. trade deficit with South Korea -- the shortfall between what we export to Korea and the goods that Korea exports to the U.S. -- was more than $20 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported, an increase of nearly 100% from deficits prior to adoption of this agreement.
The U.S. overall trade deficit with the 11 countries now negotiating with the U.S. for the TPP is $154 billion, and Korea has expressed strong interest in joining the TPP deal as well. Our elected leaders need to be reminded that trade deficits are directly linked to jobs. More U.S. exports in goods and services mean more jobs, except when those exports are dwarfed by a flood of imported goods and services, as has happened under every major trade deal in the past 20 years, including the Korea trade deal.
What happened to the 70,000 jobs that the Korea Free Trade deal was supposed to create? They never materialized. Instead, U.S. workers lost 40,000 jobs in the first year of the agreement.
Every trade deal we sign is a rip off. The only ones who make money are the scumbag lobbyists in DC and the hack politicians they steer campaign contributions to. Many denizens of DC make out great from trade deals. America and its workers do not.
The foreigners also make out as our trade deficit only gets larger after every traitorous “free trade” deal