Commentary: U.S.-Korea free trade deal was a bad deal

This month marks the two-year anniversary of the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement. As the Obama administration negotiates two of the largest so-called “free trade agreements” in the world with Pacific and European countries, we should take a closer look at this recent agreement and question whether heading down the path of more corporate controlled globalization is really in the best interest of Minnesotans.

The fact of the matter is that the Korea FTA had delivered exactly the opposite of what was promised. We were told that Korea’s advanced economy would provide a huge new market for Minnesota exports.

Two years in, Minnesota exports are actually down 14% according to the US International Trade Commission. This is mirrored nationwide as total US exports to Korea are down 11%. We were told that this deal would especially be a boon to the agricultural and auto industries, but those sectors aren’t doing any better than anyone else. Car exports are flat, and ag exports are down a whopping 41%. Meanwhile, imports from Korea have exploded.

Our annual trade deficit with Korea in 2013 was nearly $21 billion. That’s an increase of $8 billion since we passed the agreement in 2011, and translates to over 40,000 American jobs that have been lost.

Given this abysmal data, you’d think that the Obama administration would do something differently when it comes to future negotiations. (And make no mistake, we do need future trade negotiations. The United States became a world power by providing family supporting jobs in manufacturing and sending the products our workers made all over the world. Globalization and trade have led to amazing technological breakthroughs and instant access myriad global commodities. A well crafted trade agreement would include high standards for labor, consumer protection, and environmental regulation, creating a race to the top for global living standards.)

Unfortunately, instead of taking this high-road approach to trade, presidential administrations for the last 25 years, both Democrat and Republican have simply said, “Trust us, the next deal will be better,” and continued the same failed negotiating process that gave us NAFTA, CAFTA and now Korea, which have done nothing but send trillions of dollars and millions of jobs overseas, while sending global human rights and environmental standards on a race to the bottom.

Now the Obama administration is at it again with the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Unlike the Korea FTA, however, these two deals would encompass almost 80% of the entire world’s economy. The negotiations are taking place in secret under the guise of diplomatic privilege. The public and the media are kept in the dark. (What we know of the negotiations comes through leaks.) Even members of Congress have to request to go through a painfully difficult process to see the texts for a brief period of time with no notes.

Additionally, around 600 “cleared advisers,” over 90% of whom represent corporate interests, can access and help write the negotiating texts. International trade agreements override all existing federal, state and local laws. So we literally have a system where the lobbyists are writing the laws behind closed doors! Even more ominously, the administration is requesting Fast Track authority to prevent Congress from amending, or even substantially debating the final agreements and giving them an up or down vote within 60 days of the final agreement, which will be hundreds of thousands of pages, being submitted.

Fortunately for us, Members of Congress, including Senator Al Franken, all five DFL House members, and oddly enough Rep. Michele Bachmann, are fighting back. They are opposing Fast Track and demanding that any trade agreement be transparent, that it give our workers and communities and equal voice to the multinational corporations, and that if trade is going to be free, then it must first be fair! We need more public leaders like them to stand up and advocate for trade policy that improves our quality of life in Minnesota and around the globe.