North American trade union The United Steelworkers (USW) has said that the US-South Korea free trade agreement (FTA) falls far short of what is necessary to ensure that US workers and businesses have a fair deal.
The trade union's release claimed that the final agreement will result in increased access to the US market for South Korean producers with insufficient assurance that the closed South Korean market will open up sufficiently to US automobile exports and other manufactured goods, such as steel.
The USW said, "Provisions were not included in the FTA to reduce the flood of products that could be shipped from China and other countries to South Korea to be assembled into South Korean exports that will benefit from the terms of the FTA. The lack of strong rule of origin provisions as well as duty drawback will directly and adversely impact USW members in a number of industrial sectors. The delays in tariff phase-outs will only defer, not reverse, the negative consequences of the proposed FTA."
Pointing out that the public focus has been on two areas, namely the automobile and beef industries, the USW said that the automobile sector is of vital importance to its members. "In the auto sector, imports of vehicles and parts from South Korea have exceeded exports by 14-to-1 or more for the last decade," the trade union said.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, the US and South Korea settled on a FTA on December 3, which is to be ratified in both countries' bureaucratic processes before coming into force.
According to US President Barack Obama, the agreement will boost exports to South Korea, increasing the amount to $11 billion and supporting at least 70,000 local American jobs. "American manufacturers of cars and trucks will gain more access to the Korean market and a level playing field to take advantage of that access," he specifically pointed out in a statement after the deal.