Working Iowans should oppose the US-South Korea FTA
Blog for Iowa Sun 09 Jan 2011
Working Iowans Should Oppose the US-South Korea Free Trade Agreement
by Paul Deaton
On Friday, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) released an article on his government web site titled “Q & A: Export Markets for Iowa.” In it, among other things, he promoted the United States-South Korea Free Trade Agreement that has been re-negotiated by the Obama administration. In the article, Grassley covers the benefits of the agreement, citing a potential growth of $1.6 billion in agricultural exports to South Korea where the United States is already that nation’s largest trading partner. The agreement would phase out South Korean tariffs on beef, pork, corn and soybeans, which would benefit Iowa’s large scale, industrial agriculture producers.
While big agriculture would benefit from a U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, the other side of the coin is that South Korea would benefit from greater access to U.S. Markets. What does South Korea export? Among their key exports are electronic goods like semi conductors and computers, along with more traditional items like foodstuffs, iron and steel, automobiles, textiles (footwear and apparel), office machinery and other manufactured goods. In other words, the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement would further the globalization of the industrial economies to benefit large corporations, supporting jobs in South Korea that used to be in the United States. Where does that leave Iowans?
When former Secretary of State Colin Powell was in Iowa last year, he said that the future under a U.S. South Korea Free Trade agreement would look like the South Korean owned company PMX Industries, Inc. with U.S. operations based in Cedar Rapids.
The company created Iowa manufacturing jobs making copper and copper alloys included in things we use every day like computers, telephones, hand held electronic devices, ammunition, locks on our doors, and coinage, including some of our U.S. Coins. While the profits of PMX Industries may flow back to the Korean parent company Poongsan Corporation, it is undeniable that the presence of their plant in Cedar Rapids creates economic benefit for Iowans.
It is old news that dumping of steel, by South Korea and other countries, on the U.S. economy jeopardized the long term viability of our industry and workers. At the same time, when Senator Grassley, House Speaker Boehner and others speak for the need to ratify the U.S.- South Korea Free Trade Agreement, there is an underlying presumption that members of the middle class are either not paying attention or have forgotten that unrestricted access to U.S. markets benefits the wealthy and puts pressure on the middle class. While a protectionist stance is not always good for Iowans, one asks, “what is it we aren’t being told about this agreement?”
As Blog for Iowa reported, Poongsan Chairman and CEO Jin Ryu is politically well connected in the United States and has a close, personal relationship with Colin Powell and other members of the two Bush administrations. His influence is evident in what little public discussion there has been over the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement. While we don’t know what narratives are being spun within Chairman Ryu’s sphere of influence, what we do know is that this trade agreement, if ratified, would be another weapon for large corporations to use in the assault on Iowa working people. If you can find someone who knows about this agreement, stand up for working Iowans and oppose it.
Read our other Blog for Iowa articles about the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement here, here and here.
Paul Deaton is a native Iowan living in rural Johnson County and weekend editor of Blog for Iowa. E-mail Paul Deaton
