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.

(Originally posted this thread back in January, but reposted due to relevance to TPP)

[djean111]

1. Sometimes I get the feeling that some here at DU truly believe that the only reason some of

hate the TPP is because we "hate" Obama.
No, these "deals" reek, no matter who happens to be president at the time.

Will there be an explanation from anyone at all about why or how the TPP won't be the same failure as KORUS?
That would certainly be nice.
Or is "failure" one of those slippery concepts, in that KORUS must have been good for someone - just not the American people.

[winter is coming]

2. For some people, it's apparently always about personalities and not policies.

It's not possible to disagree with a politician's positions without hating them, and if you support a candidate because of their positions, that's a "cult of personality". As if politicians are supposed to be our best buddies or worst enemies instead of our representatives.

[Sheepshank]

3. lucky for you he'll be leaving soon

and you can feel all vindicated that you were right all along...or you know it al along, or that you were hood winked all along....whatever

Damn Obama and his making mistakes...he totally sucks

[hifiguy]

4. After seeing the disaster that was NAFTA

he has no excuse whatsoever for saying things like this. The proof is out there and it is all bad for US workers. He is far too smart not to know the real consequences and results of one-sided crap like this. And don't even get me started on the parts of TPP that basically cede national sovereignty to corporations.

[AzDar]

9. ^ This.

[liberal_at_heart]

6. See the problem that those who support Obama no matter what don't understand is that for us

who criticize his policies, it is not about Obama. It is about the bad policies. If his policies would support unions and workers more or even just as much as they support big business we wouldn't be criticizing Obama as much. Wages have been stagnant for decades and the way we negotiate international free trade agreements, don't help to solve this economic crisis that workers face in this country.

[KamaAina]

5. One would think the repukes would be all over this like white on rice

and I do mean white , given their utter hatred of all things Obama. Certainly the Rug Doctor/libertarian faction, and Santorectum fans who piss and moan about a UN disability rights treaty "violating our national sovereignty"!

But so far, (crickets). Hmmmmm.....

[woo me with science]

7. K&R

[woo me with science]

8. kick