An FTA story for children
Hankyoreh, Korea
An FTA story for children
The monster with 17 horns and the protection of a mysterious equation
Park Ki-beom, children’s story writer
1 August 2006
Hello, my young friends! I want to share with you a strange math equation that I found. It attempts to tell you what the sum is after such and such numbers are added up. Or, it tries to tell you the average of all these numbers combined. For example, it tells what GDP is, what the whole trade volume is, what per capita income is. Confusing? Well, I am not so good at numbers, so I also didn’t let the equation bother me very much, either. It was perhaps because I wasn’t that much interested in economics, after all.
But then again, that wasn’t entirely true. Even though I live on a moderate income and I don’t have to let myself be tired out by calculating a huge sum of money, the very moment that I step out of my home, everything is about economy, essentially, such as taking a bus or buying the day’s newspaper. And what is in the paper is all about money, too. Without money, it’s impossible to live, as you know.
So, sometimes I take a deep sigh when I review my bankbook at the end of every month, or sometimes I am somewhat relieved to find my expenses are less than what I feared they would be. Virtually every day, I am surrounded by all different aspects of the economy. I believe the same is true for you, although you may not realize it yet.
However, I have difficulty in understanding such terms as gross domestic product or per capita income. It’s mainly because I see them as having little to do with my life. At that time when they said the nation’s economy was improving, I was actually having difficulty in making ends meet. When they said the exports were increasing, my neighbors’ lives weren’t improving much.
So, it was like what I saw in school as a boy. When my teacher said that our class’s performance improved or we did well on the test, it didn’t make me feel like I was a part of it. It was because when my schoolmates went to a competition and won numerous awards, it didn’t mean that I myself did well in that competition. If some of my classmates who received expensive private lessons did well on the test, the class’s test average jumped up. Then, regardless of my own performance, I became a member of the class that excelled academically. It baffled me somewhat. What had been always important in my school was how many awards the ’school’ got, what the average school score was, and how many students in my school entered Seoul National University. But I never felt like that was my story.
It looks like the same thing applies when we talk about the nation’s economy. Even if the majority of its people are poor, if one fifths of its members who are rich become much richer, then they say that the people in the nation live in better conditions. It can be found, for example, in the increase of the nation’s GDP or its per capita income. Even in these figures, each individual’s life doesn’t count much, actually. By the way, I am just wondering whether it is appropriate for my own happiness to be measured by a number in this math formula. It seems it’s all about multiplying, dividing, and averaging. But I am not a number.
The strange calculation doesn’t stop with numbers. It also happens to the argument of people who want to combine our market with that of America. These people argue that even though we may suffer from a deluge of imported U.S. agricultural products, we can gain much larger sales benefits in the automobile, electronics, and clothing sectors.
I need to confirm first whether it is true that we will have a bigger export market by signing a deal with Uncle Sam enough to make up for our loss in agriculture. But then again, what bothers me equally is whether all these complex aspects of life can be accurately represented in mere numbers.
Each one of us has different sources that bring us happiness and a rewarding feeling. We have different desires and dreams. We have different lives. How can all of these be measured by simply adding or dividing numbers? Their logic is that even if one area is going down, it can be propped up and eventually balanced out by the good performances in the other areas. It also means to tell farmers who lost their livelihoods to find a job in an automobile part assembly line. It also means telling them to stop plowing and hoeing, and start making a living by sticking price labels on products at a supermarket instead.
I don’t mean to say that working at a mart or a factory is not good. I am just scared by the whole numbers game that doesn’t care about the fact that each one of us is different. The FTA monster looks at everything from the point of making money, and justifies itself from that perspective.
Besides, the downfall of agriculture doesn’t stop with the downfall of farmers’ livelihoods. It also means that we can no longer plant the vegetables we used to grow that will eventually show up at our dinner table. Instead, we may have to buy them from abroad. What if some day foreign countries turn their back on us, saying they are not going to sell us food any more? If we don’t want to become hungry, we will have to accept whatever price they tell us, even if that may be quite expensive. We may have to do whatever they want us to do in order not to starve ourselves.
Do you know that the reason Switzerland ditched a free trade negotiation with America was that it would mean having to give up its entire agricultural sector? Despite all this, there are still some people in Korea who see the downfall of agriculture merely in terms of the loss of farmers’ income. Again, they come up with the same strange calculation of adding and dividing and say, "I will make it up for you by making more money in other areas! You know, there are other places you could go and make money!"
I forgot to tell you, my friend, that "FTA" stands for ’free trade agreement.’ It means we lower or eliminate taxes and trade barriers when we buy from or sell to other countries. At least between two countries, it means to combine their two markets as one, as if it were a single market. Then, the strange calculation shows up here. Under this math formula, what used to be a fundamental part of our life can turn into a source for making money. It also means we have to give up the very fundamental foundation of our livelihood and leave it to merchants. For those who believe in the strange calculation formula, life, the environment, human rights, indigenous culture, all can become commercially viable and tradable. And those who oppose doing so will be perceived as an objector of free trade. Those who support the FTA reassuringly say that after they capitalize on all these resources, they will let the rest of us enjoy a better life.
They also want us to feel thrilled to know that we are closer to making new inroads into the world’s richest country, America. After that, they say, we can just sit back and wait for merchants and experts to come to us who are more skilled and advanced. Then, they say, we will be able to enjoy a more quality life, including schools, hospitals, tap water, electricity and natural gas for cooking or heating. Yes, all the very best!
Well, I also believe that the American capital will bring much more advanced products and services than what we have now, as they claim. It surely sounds good to have something better. However, inside all this sweet and tantalizing sales talk is hidden something very important. That is, for us to enjoy all these top qualities in life, we will have to pay more!
The deal that South Korea and America is trying to make is not to share what we have in a fair manner. Rather it is to sell more toward each other. And they are now in the process of making that preparation. When the deal is complete, however, those who don’t have money will end up losing even what they have now. That’s the FTA that our government and America are working on now. Anything that has a market value can turn into a commercial product. And it covers as many as 17 areas. FTA is a brute with 17 horns. Worse, those who are the masters of the strange calculation method are even giving this monster a spear and a shield.
First, the monster’s powerful shield. With it, when foreign capital enters a country, local laws and regulations can be ignored. This is because there is a powerful protective shield called the "abolition of forced implementation of obligations" that states the government cannot force foreign capital to abide by local laws and regulations. This is quite a privilege for foreign capital. It has a shield even law cannot penetrate. It can ignore laws not to willfully fire workers, not to contaminate the environment. With it, a foreign company can always let its workers go. It can hire people for a short period and then do what they want. The so-called "contract workers" that we have been hearing recently are the people who are under such conditions. The FTA monster-backed American capital will want to change all local workers here to non-regular contract workers.
In the meantime, local capital won’t just sit around. It will join the flow. To compete against foreign capital, local companies will also lower their workers’ wages and try to change relevant laws, claiming that the laws are not giving domestic capital a competitive edge to compete against foreign capital. Then, with the loosening of domestic laws that used to protect the rights of laborers, all the slots in companies and factories will eventually be filled with contract workers. Whoever makes their living on a monthly salary will be placed under such conditions.
So, even though capital helps companies to grow and contribute to GDP or per capita income, the people who are working under this umbrella will have to suffer more for it. The monster’s shield is so powerful. And it only protects the interest of foreign capital. Then, we will see a few who get richer and richer, and the rest getting poorer and poorer, even in a same company.
So, it doesn’t make sense to tell me to go find another company when my current company goes bankrupt. That’s sheer nonsense! If we follow such advice, eventually all farmers and workers will perish, while only a few capitalists will survive. Of course, I am sure that despite such conditions, the nation’s numbers, including GDP, export volume, and average income can still increase. Then, those who support the strange calculation will continue to argue: Look! See this rise? We’re much better than before. And we can do better than now! Come on!
The monster’s other powerful weapon is the spear. It is also called the foreign investor’s right to sue the State. It is a weapon that a company can use to complain about a country’s policy being "unfair and biased against foreign investors." The monster-backed foreign capital can file a suit against the government if the government tries to protect its people. Worse, the court where this matter will be handled will not be one in the home country. It is to be held in a place like an "international dispute mediation center," which is essentially where the monster’s friends live.
Meanwhile, the shield of the monster continues to protect the interests of this foreign capital. If a foreign company pollutes the environment and causes many local residents to die, and if as a result, the government steps in to prevent further damage, the monster will attack the government with the pointed spear: it sues the government. Then, the government will have to pay the monster, while no compensation will be given to the victims.
Actually, this very thing happened between an American company and the Mexican government. While watching its citizens dying from pollution, the Mexican government still had to pay 16.5 million USD to the American company. The Canadian government also had a similar painful experience of having to pay 13 million USD when a similar incident happened. Both of these countries were victims of the American capital and its monster friend, the FTA.
The monster’s spear becomes very powerful when it comes to destroying any resistance to block foreign capital from entering a market. The bully disrupts and undermines the country’s policies in all fields. From the eyes of the FTA monster, the government’s policy to put on domestic movies for a certain days every year, or providing subsides to farmers, or limiting the sales of state-owned companies’ stocks to foreigners, or lowering drug prices, is discrimination against foreign capital. Then the creature steps in, destroying whatever it sees in its path. It will take the government to an international tribunal, demanding compensation. That’s not all. It will also demand the change of the relevant laws. So for the government, the best way is to change the laws before it gets sued.
When the FTA monster praises ’free’ trade, it means free trade among rich people. Those who advocate the mysterious formula raise their voice proudly and join the hymn. These rich people argue they can protect the public sector, help those industries with low competitiveness, reduce the nation’s wealth divide, and so on. I don’t know how it can do these things, however.
With a shield on one hand that can protect it from domestic law, with a spear on the other hand that can penetrate the local government’s policy, the almighty FTA monster has nothing to fear. Ducking and warding off critics, it only has to pour in money on its way forward. It preaches about the virtues of free investment and free competition and starts to build schools. It will decide the tuition, rate, recruiting students and hiring teachers on its own. All the things will be done as it sees fit. It will also start building hospitals. Those hospitals, however, will be very expensive because they have advanced medicine and expensive medical equipment that Korea’s national health coverage cannot cover.
The foreign capital then will conspire with local insurance merchants to sell expensive private coverage. It is going to buy electricity, railways, tap water, natural gas for cooking or heating, then upgrade them and sell them at premium prices. The domestic capital won’t just sit around while all these things are happening. They will be also motivated to follow the suit and go build schools and start to set up expensive hospitals that the average Kim, Lee, and Park cannot afford.
The local capital will also learn advanced business service from America and jump on the money-making wagon. Well, I guess this is what the old saying means: "You scratch my back, I will scratch yours." Oh, yes, it’s so exciting to see Korean capital and the foreign capital team up together and march toward the bright future -reserved exclusively for those privileged enough.
Well, these folks won’t have anything to worry about. They will send their children to expensive private schools, dine at high-end restaurants, enjoy top-quality service in their penthouse. But what about those who are not part of this exclusive club? What about farmers who have to desert their farmlands and migrate to cities to find opportunities? What about those who are relegated to temporary jobs?
Medicine prices will soar. Health insurance will be expensive. The only place they can still go will be the poorly equipped local clinics. I hear that at a premium hospital built by foreign capital, it will cost nearly 10 million won (10,000 USD) to have a simple appendectomy surgery. There will be schools where rich kids go and the schools where poor kids go. The average Kim, Lee, and Park cannot afford a college education that will cost as much as 20 million won. They will only be able to eat genetically modified food, when they know that organic food is much healthier.
The freedom, brought by the strange math equation and the 17-horned FTA monster, is a freedom only for those privileged and who have money. There wasn’t a freedom for the rest, from the beginning. The people who tout the strange math formula will continue to celebrate with the same list of numbers: GDP, export volume and average income. Where are they? Oh, I see them all high up there, up at the government posts and corporate hierarchy. Their faces beam with happiness. It seems that the FTA could indeed be a blessing for some people. Sadly, most of us won’t share the blessing.
The South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, if realized, will only feed the capital owned by a few in the two nations. The "freedom" they talk about is the freedom to make everything commercially profitable, the freedom to sell without restriction, the freedom to pay a lot to enjoy the premium service, the freedom not to treat workers with the due respect they deserve, the freedom to adulterate mother nature. Essentially, it is the freedom of those few who will have the world as they please.
But the freedom we want is different. We want the freedom to respect each other’s livelihoods, the freedom to enjoy the most essential needs of life. Although I may also agree with the view that different countries need to trade with each other based on their different needs, I hope it to be done in a way that can help to create a harmonious future for all, where life and the essential conditions for it are shared.
Actually, some developing countries in the Americas, such as Venezuela, Bolivia, and Cuba, have started to hold their hands together in solidarity in the name of the People’s Trade Agreement. Its goal is to prevent environmental damage due to industrial activities, to protect the local small industries, and to respect each other’s food industry and cooperate with each other.
The South American agreement is different from the FTA monster in that it is not a pact to expand the freedom of foreign capital, but to coordinate and cooperate each other to create harmonious livelihoods among people. I am sure that if they are also concerned only about numbers such as GDP and average income, then it will be very difficult for them to share resources and engage in genuine trade. A true cooperation is possible only when we treat each and every single life with due respect and try to balance different needs through mutually beneficial exchanges, instead of exploitation.
Unfortunately, in Korea, we see those people who advocate the strange math formula shaking their hands with their American friends, with our livelihood held hostage. They are trying to create a FTA monster with 17 horns, armed with a protective shield and powerful lance. Worse, there is already another monster called "strategic flexibility," which is trying to make this nation into America’s major outpost for war games. These two monsters are trying to devour our livelihoods and our peace in this land.
My little friend, I am afraid that we adults may be not powerful enough, and we may be forced to give in to the monsters that will decide the life of our future generation, including yours. But it’s too early for us to be discouraged. Let us take a deep breath and look straight into the monster’s eyes. Let us try our best to open the door for a future where we can decide our own destiny, where I, an average Park, can feel that I am part of the numbers they are celebrating.
This article, which was first appeared in the August 1 issue of the Hankyoreh 21, weekly magazine, was translated by Lee Seong Hyon.
