International day of action against the Korea-US FTA and all US FTAs
Korean Alliance against the Korea-U.S. FTA (KoA) | March 2007
Let us unite to stop all U.S.-led free trade agreements!
International Day of Action against the Korea-U.S. FTA and All U.S. FTAs
We, the Korean Alliance against Korea-US FTA (KoA), call for an international day of joint action on Sunday, March 25, 2007. To the people struggling to stop the spread of neoliberal globalization, we ask for your solidarity and strength in stopping the Korea-U.S. FTA and all U.S. FTAs.
The 8th round of negotiations for the Korea-U.S. FTA begins on March 8. Both the U.S. and South Korea expect to reach an agreement by the end of March, when all free trade agreements must be submitted to the U.S. Congress for a vote by the end of June to meet the deadline for the U.S. president’s Trade Promotion Authority. At the moment, the U.S. has concluded or is undergoing free trade negations with several countries, including Peru, Colombia, Panama, South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia. For countries such as Peru and Colombia, signed agreements are already in the U.S. Congress and in respective legislatures for vote.
Time is a critical factor in the fight to stop all U.S.-led free trade agreements; March is the month in which we must stop all pending FTAs from conclusion. The reasons for our fight are clear: All the FTAs led by the Bush Administration’s USTR Office violate international standards on labor, environment, health, and safety. In Korea, the negotiations process has been wholly undemocratic, ignoring public opinion and hiding information. The livelihoods of farmers are at serious risk, and public services face disastrous reduction and privatization. As in other FTAs, the investor-state claims clause threatens all protective laws and social institutions. The Korea-U.S. FTA, the largest FTA since NAFTA, thus poses to bring unprecedented harm on all areas of life. Let us unite in the struggle to stop all U.S.-led free trade agreements!
On March 25, 2007, tens of thousands of farmers, workers, and concerned persons will gather for mass demonstrations against the Korea-U.S. FTA throughout the country. These events will represent widespread rage at the FTA negotiations, which have ignored the opinions and needs of common people from the very beginning. We ask you to join us in protest on this day.
Proposal for the International Day of Action on Sunday, March 25, 2007
Title: International Day of Action against the Korea-U.S. FTA and All U.S. FTAs
Message: Stop the Korea-U.S. FTA and All U.S. FTAs
What: 1) Rallies, protests, marches, candlelight vigils, or whatever action is appropriate for the country; 2) endorsement of the attached protest letter
When: Sunday, March 25, 2007 (in conjunction with mass demonstrations in Korea)
Who: Organizations and activists from around the world who are fighting U.S. FTAs
Where: The U.S. Embassy, respective countries’ Embassies or Consulates, or other appropriate places
If you will participate in the International Day of Action, please confirm by Friday, March 16, 2007. KoA will send headbands that say “No FTA.” Even if you are unable to carry out an action, we ask for your endorsement of the protest letter.
Email confirmations and questions to nofta@hanmail.net
International Solidarity Team
Korean Alliance against the Korea-U.S. FTA
150-982 Daeyoung Building 3F
139 Youngdeungpo-dong 2-ga, Youngdeungpo-gu,
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Tel: 82-2-775-2501
nofta@hanmail.net www.nofta.or.kr
Formed on March 28, 2006, the Korean Alliance against KorUS FTA (KoA) is made up of over 300 organizations, including trade unions, farmers’ groups, NGOs, and social movement groups. Prior to the FTA struggle, South Korea’s farmers, workers, and activists have fought against the WTO in Seattle, Cancun, and Hong Kong. Through our activities, we have joined the struggle against neoliberal globalization throughout the world. At the core of our fight against the FTA is the people’s demand for fair international trade based on sustainable development, public service, cultural diversity, and food sovereignty.
Let us unite to stop all U.S.-led free trade agreements!
Endorsement Protest Statement against the Korea-U.S. FTA
As you know, negotiations of the Korea-U.S FTA are near their end. If we do not act quickly, an agreement that values profit over people’s lives will come into effect with detrimental consequences for workers and farmers in both Korea and the United States. As we, the Korean Alliance against Korea-U.S. FTA (KoA) mobilize all our strength in this final stage we ask for your support and solidarity. Please have your organization sign the attached protest statement and circulate it to your allied organizations.
The 8th round of negotiations for the Korea-U.S. FTA concluded on March 12 with only a few issues left for further discussion in high-level talks. Both the U.S. and South Korea expect to reach an agreement by the end of the month, when all free trade agreements must be submitted to the U.S. Congress for a vote by the end of June to meet the deadline for the U.S. president’s Trade Promotion Authority. At the moment, the U.S. has concluded or is undergoing free trade negations with several countries, including Peru, Colombia, Panama, South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia. For countries such as Peru and Colombia, signed agreements are already in the U.S. Congress and in respective legislatures for vote.
Time is a critical factor in the fight to stop all U.S.-led free trade agreements; March is the month in which we must stop all pending FTAs from conclusion. The reasons for our fight are clear: All the FTAs led by the Bush Administration’s USTR Office violate international standards on labor, environment, health, and safety. In Korea, the negotiations process has been wholly undemocratic, ignoring public opinion and hiding information. The livelihoods of farmers are at serious risk, and public services face disastrous reduction and privatization. As in other FTAs, the investor-state claims clause threatens all protective laws and social institutions. The Korea-U.S. FTA, the largest FTA since NAFTA, thus poses to bring unprecedented harm to all areas of life.
On March 12 we began an unlimited protest hunger strike, which will grow to as many as one thousand participants by the beginning of next week. On March 25, tens of thousands of farmers, workers, and concerned persons will gather for mass demonstrations against the Korea-U.S. FTA throughout the country. These events represent the widespread rage at the FTA negotiations, which have ignored the opinions and needs of common people from the very beginning.
The Korea-U.S. FTA is not merely important for people in Korea and the U.S., it is an issue of global concern. If this agreement passes it will represent an advance for the neoliberalist agenda of profits for big business at the expense of working people. If we can defeat it, it will mean a victory for common people in our struggle to achieve a more equitable world.
Once again, please join us in this struggle by signing the attached statement and circulating to organizations in your network. In addition, please let us know what we can do to support the anti-FTA struggles in which you are engaged.
In signing the statement please follow the instructions below:
- Please have a representative of your organization sign in your organization’s name. (Include the individual’s name, title and the organization’s name).
- Please return the signed statement to us by the evening of Saturday, March 24 2007. (Please be aware of time differences). The statement will be released to the media in timing with our mass mobilization on March 25.
- Please send the statement to both of the following addresses: nofta@hanmail.net, openplaza@paran.com
- If you have any questions you may contact Wol-san Liem 82-10-2261-0613 or Cheehyung Kim at 82-10-5233-6846
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Declaration Opposing the Korea-U.S. FTA March 2007 We, the undersigned, express our opposition to the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which poses a serious threat to public interest in both South Korea and the United States. The Korea-U.S. FTA is based on a model of trade agreement that is designed to profit of transnational capital and big business at the expense of workers, farmers, and common people and has been negotiated through a secretive and undemocratic process. Such a trade agreement must not be implemented. We are opposed to the secretive and undemocratic nature through which the Korea-U.S. FTA has been negotiated. FTA talks have been held in remote places away from public view or outside of the official negotiations. The South Korean government has routinely withheld relevant information and documents from stakeholders, the National Assembly, and the general public. It has also closed off public debate through insufficient hearings and media censorship. Worse, it has severely suppressed anti-FTA sentiment, banning peaceful protests and arresting protest participants. We are opposed to a trade agreement that will destroy the livelihood of South Korean farmers and harm the environment. The Korea-U.S. FTA calls for unconditional opening of the South Korean agricultural market to cheap overproduced American-grown products. The consequent deterioration of Korean agriculture will have devastating social, cultural, and environmental effects: Statistics show that roughly half of South Korea's farmers will be unable to maintain their farms and be forced to join the ranks of the urban poor. The resultant destruction of rural communities will mean the break-up of rural traditions that are the basis of Korean culture, and the deterioration of the rural environment. The Korea-U.S. FTA also threatens the environment by introducing mechanisms that can potentially lower environmental standards such as the Investor-State Claim Clause. We are opposed to a trade agreement that directly threatens vital public services such as health-care, energy provision, and education. The Korea-U.S. FTA calls for higher pricing of pharmaceuticals-benefiting transnational pharmaceutical companies at the expense of access for common people. The FTA will also limit the Korean government's ability to ensure equitable access to energy and water supply by fostering privatization in these sectors and diminish the validity of public education through the introduction of private U.S.-based testing services, which will increase the demand on students to seek private education programs We are opposed to a trade agreement that threatens cultural diversity by allowing harmful infringement on South Korea's cultural industry. Reduction of South Korea's screen quota, which protects the nation's film industry, was made a prerequisite for beginning FTA negotiations. Further, the current Korea-U.S. FTA will require the removal of similar protections for Korea's broadcasting industry. These measures endanger the public function of the broadcasting industry and the uniqueness of South Korea's audio-video language. The provisions of the Korea-U.S. FTA are inconsistent with the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity Cultural Expressions, which affirms the right of each member nation to formulate and implement regulations aimed at promoting domestic cultural expression. We are opposed to a trade agreement that grants undue powers to investors at the expense of domestic development and public interest. The unconditional investor-state claims clause included in the Korea-U.S. FTA affords greater privileges to foreign investors than those granted by domestic law, providing a mechanism through which investors' claims can place enormous monetary penalties on taxpayers and pressure the government to adopt lower environmental and labor standards to avoid future claims. The Korea-U.S. FTA also calls for a reduction in government procurement contracts in order to open these markets to foreign capital. In South Korea, procurement policy promotes the growth of thousands of small businesses in various regions, providing entrepreneurial opportunities to businesses that are conscious about environmental and labor issues. As such, they are vital to keeping public interest alive and maintaining community-government cooperation. We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with the Korean people. We call for abrogation of the Korea-U.S. FTA negotiations to date and cancellation of all future talks and legislative processes. Signed: |
