The Korea-U.S. Free Trade agreement is being pushed through Congress with little fanfare but huge consequences to our trade and sovereignty. What do Walter Jones (R-NC) and Ron Paul (R-TX) have to say about this agreement:
“This pact is a sneaky form of international preemption, undermining the critical checks and balances and freedoms established by the U.S. Constitution’s reservation of many rights to the people or state or government…[it] sets up foreign tribunals to which the United States must submit for judgment. We urge you to oppose President Obama’s Korea Agreement.
–Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) & Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) letter to colleagues.
William Rhodes writes in the Hill that we must pass this agreement immediately:
In his State of the Union address, President Obama asked Congress to pass the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS) as quickly as possible. Nearly five years to the day since these negotiations were first announced, the President’s call to action on this groundbreaking agreement is a welcome reaffirmation of U.S. leadership in opening markets overseas to create new jobs and economic growth opportunities at home.
…
The window of opportunity for the United States to take full advantage of the potential to create new jobs and growth through the FTA is, however, shrinking rapidly. On February 17, the European Parliament approved the EU’s free trade agreement with South Korea. This agreement will eliminate nearly 99 percent of all duties on trade in manufactured and agricultural goods between the EU and Korea within five years. It will also offer EU manufacturers, farmers, and services providers many of the same protections and market opening provisions that their American counterparts will enjoy under the U.S. Korea FTA. The EU agreement is slated to enter into effect this July.
Without quick action by Congress to approve the U.S.-Korea FTA, American workers and producers risk losing out on the chance to bolster their business and market share in Korea by giving European exporters a head start. We have already seen these kinds of market share losses in Colombia and Panama with the delay to act on passing these two important agreements as well.
William Rhodes is a senior advisor to Citigroup and Chairman of the U.S. Korea Business Council.
Takebackwashington.org has been covering this story in detail. Here are ten reasons from them to oppose this agreement:
TOP TEN REASONS
Why Even FREE TRADERS Oppose
Obama’s Trade Deal
1 Undermines U.S. sovereignty in favor of UN & World Bank tribunals & international law.
2. Violates U.S. Constitution by circumventing Congressional authority regarding appropriation of U.S. tax dollars.
3. State legislators oppose because it undermines State’s sovereignty.
4. Negotiated with expedited Executive authority & Congress is banned from amending or fully debating it.
5. Kills almost 160,000 U.S. jobs& encourages offshoring by multi-national corporations.
6. Favors powerful multi-national corporations over U.S. small business even when bidding for government contracts.
7. Not real “free trade” – benefits Korea much more than U.S. & increases U.S. trade deficit by $16.7 billion.
8. Allows unsafe food into U.S. without inspection.
9. Sends U.S. dollars into NORTH Korea & strengthens Chinese leverage against us.
10. Immigration – throws open U.S. doors to Korea.
What are some other consequences of this legislation?
If the FTA is implemented as written, that increased trade will include goods assembled in South Korea – but comprised of large amounts of North Korean inputs sourced in the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
This is a sweatshop zone located 40 miles north of Seoul where 120 South Korean firms employ 44,000 North Koreans, whose wages are paid directly to the North Korean government, which keeps half.
Hyundai predicts that the North Korean regime will receive $9.55 billion in economic gains from Kaesong
over the course of nine years if expansion proceeds. This is equivalent to 36 percent of North Korea’s
estimated national income.
I have to ask why does Obama want to support North Korea and at the same time marginalize the labor unions who have been in complete lockstep with his administration? Does everyone remember NAFTA?
David DeGerolamo
God help us! It feels like we are living in the World Union instead of the United States of America!
In his speech about oil prices he declared capitalists (oil speculators), anyone making short gains on their investments (this is the definition of capitalism) as criminals who will be investigated and rooted out by DOJ. He did nor include the Fed, Citicorp, the auto companies (now owned by the gov’t.) And he was applauded for this speech. Does anyone still not believe this man and his cronies are bent on destroying this country as we knew it? He’s doing it one piece at a time and has only one congressman here and one there who oppose him. Otherwise they are walking to the gallows in lockstep. God help us all.