In 2010, Obama promised the US/Korea free trade deal would increase US exports by $10-$11 billion

[brentspeak]

He was wrong.

http://www.epi.org/blog/korea-trade-deal-resulted-growing-trade/

U.S.-Korea Trade Deal Resulted in Growing Trade Deficits and Nearly 60,000 Lost Jobs

Posted March 14, 2014 at 3:32 pm by Robert E. Scott

This Saturday is the second anniversary of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), which took effect on March 15, 2012. President Obama said at the time that KORUS would increase US goods exports by $10 to $11 billion, supporting 70,000 American jobs from increased exports alone. Things are not turning out as predicted.

In first two years after KORUS took effect, U.S. domestic exports to Korea fell (decreased) by $3.1 billion, a decline of 7.5%, as shown in the figure below. Imports from Korea increased $5.6 billion, an increase of 9.8%. Although rising exports could, in theory, support more U.S. jobs, the decline in US exports to Korea has actually cost American jobs in the past two years. Worse yet, the rapid growth of Korean imports has eliminated even more U.S. jobs. Overall, the U.S. trade deficit with Korea has increased $8.7 billion, or 59.6%, costing nearly 60,000 U.S. jobs. Most of the nearly 60,000 jobs lost were in manufacturing.

Trade deals do more than cut tariffs, they promote foreign direct investment (FDI) and a surge in outsourcing by U.S. and foreign multinational companies (MNCs). FDI leads to growing trade deficits and job losses. U.S. multinationals were responsible for nearly one quarter (26.9 percent) of the U.S. trade deficit in 2011. Foreign multinationals operating in the United States (companies like Kia and Hyundai) were responsible for nearly half (44.2 percent) of the U.S. goods trade deficit in that same year. Taken together, U.S. and foreign MNCs were responsible for nearly three-fourths (77.1 percent) of the U.S. goods trade deficit in 2011.



(snip)

KORUS was the template for TPP and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). It is a broken model. If completed and approved by Congress, these deals will only result in a more outsourcing by US and foreign MNCs, rising trade deficits and even more trade-related job losses. Proposed trade and investment deals are a direct threat to the heart of U.S. manufacturing employment and domestic production. The United States should stop negotiating new trade deals and fix the ones we have.

[MannyGoldstein]

1. So it didn't live up to the hype

It was on a great deal, not phenomenal.

This one will be different - the President said so himself.

[Skittles]

3. a DUer actually told us TPP HAS to be cool if Obama thinks it's good

stupid, stupid, STUPID

[progressoid]

4. And we can't judge it yet because we don't know what's in it.

So, just relax. Everything will turn out fine this time.


p.s. never mind that Republicans love it

[BrotherIvan]

2. Thank you for sharing this information

It is very important as we discuss the TPP.

I have said before, some of the raw materials I buy for manufacturing are only made in Asia now, notably Korea. Our small company manufactures in the US. When I did some digging to import our materials, I found that there was 9% tariff for just the materials, but because of the Korean trade agreement, if the finished product was imported, made in Korea, there would be 0% tariff. So not only would our company benefit from the $4.50 an hour minimum wage there, but would get a 10% discount on top of that. No American worker can compete with that.

But the TPP is an entirely different animal.

[joshcryer]

5. Sounds about right.

Americans want cheap goods. TPP is a symptom of that.

[ChosenUnWisely]

6. A Big Thank You!

We should thank all the owners of Hyundai’s, Kia’s, LG Appliances, Samsung, just to name a few it could not have happened without you!

Your US Dollar is a vote and these people choose to vote for Korean Products instead and people wonder why Americans are losing their manufacturing jobs!

[woo me with science]

7. Lies upon lies upon lies.

Corporate politicians LIE. It's what they do.

[pampango]

8. Exports to SK will be about $2.7 trillion more in 2014 than in 2013 so we're headed in the right

direction. If we keep that growth in exports going for 4 years we will reach the goal that Obama stated. I did not see that he said that increase would be achieved by 2014 or 2015.

Exports to SK in 2013: $41.7 billion
Exports to SK in 2014: $44.4 billion

http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5800.html

Obviously South Korea adapted to the new trading rules faster than we did. Exports are 38% of their economy, just 9% of ours so they are more oriented to take advantage of new opportunities in other countries.

South Korea's GDP per capita is $35,000 compared to our $53,000 but they have a much more equitable distribution of that income than we do.

The Agreement would eliminate tariffs on over 95 percent of industrial and consumer goods within five years.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/fact_sheet_overview_us_korea_free_trade_agreement.pdf

The 5 years would be in 2017.

[brentspeak]

9. I can see you're a fan of "How to Lie With Statistics"

But not in the ironic way the author intended. You are unscrupulous enough to happily lie with statistics.

What you did not point out in your post is that the trade deficit between the US and S. Korea increased from 2013 to 2014, and, in fact, has more than doubled since the KORUS was signed.

"Obviously South Korea adapted to the new trading rules faster than we did. Exports are 38% of their economy, just 9% of ours so they are more oriented to take advantage of new opportunities in other countries.

South Korea's GDP per capita is $35,000 compared to our $53,000 but they have a much more equitable distribution of that income than we do."

That is the precisely the type of meaningless propaganda line the US Chamber of Commerce teaches its employees to regurgitate. It's another way of using numbers to say what you want them to say, and doesn't really make any sense, though it may sound like it does to an uninformed person.

[Elwood P Dowd]

10. Happens all the time. The propaganda from the free trade force is strong with that one.

There is only one side to the balance sheet.

[pampango]

11. I was responding to the point of the OP title which was that Obama promised an increase in exports.

The bolded section of the portion that was quoted also dealt with the change in exports not in the deficit. The two blue links in the quoted portion of the article also dealt specifically with exports not with the deficit.

"Obviously South Korea adapted to the new trading rules faster than we did. Exports are 38% of their economy, just 9% of ours so they are more oriented to take advantage of new opportunities in other countries.

South Korea's GDP per capita is $35,000 compared to our $53,000 but they have a much more equitable distribution of that income than we do."

That is the precisely the type of meaningless propaganda line the US Chamber of Commerce teaches its employees to regurgitate.

You don't think that countries like South Korea and Germany that rely heavily on exports spend more time and effort understanding markets in other countries than do countries like the US which exports relatively little. How do you think they are so successful at exporting. It's not because they pay workers less. Germany has higher manufacturing wages than we do.

And of course anyone who disagrees with you must work for the Chamber of Commerce.

[LondonReign2]

12. Kick

[brentspeak]

13. kick, due to relevance to TPP n/t