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Largest US union fights South Korea trade deal
AFP - Friday, December 10
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Largest US union fights South Korea trade deal
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - – The largest US labor federation said it opposed a sweeping free trade agreement with South Korea, hurting the accord's chances of getting through the US Congress.
AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka praised President Barack Obama's efforts to address what unions view as problems with the accord but warned they did not sufficiently address the issues of outsourcing US jobs and possible currency manipulation.
"So long as these agreements fall short of protecting the broad interests of American workers and their counterparts around the world in these uncertain economic times, we will oppose them," Trumka said in a statement.
The union ranks among the most steadfast allies of Obama's Democrats, and its opposition was expected to complicate approval of the deal by US lawmakers.
The union chief praised US negotiators for securing concessions that "will give some much needed breathing room to the auto industry" in the United States.
"However, the labor movements concerns about the Korea trade deal go beyond the auto assembly sector to a more fundamental question about what a fairer and more balanced trade policy should look like," Trumka said.
He cited worries that investment and government procurement measures in the accord "will encourage offshoring," and complained that the agreement failed to go far enough in protecting workers' right to organize.
Over the past two decades, American unions, despite their differences, have presented a united front in their opposition to trade agreements.
But United Auto Workers (UAW) president Bob King, in a decision that surprised and angered other US union leaders, has endorsed the proposed trade pact with South Korea, noting the changes will help American automakers and autoworkers in the US.
King, an AFL-CIO board member, noted that "under the current proposed agreement, duty elimination is now delayed until year five of the agreement, giving US automakers the time to reverse the damage caused by decades of South Korean protectionism."
Under the first US-Korean trade deal negotiated in 2007, 90 percent of Korea's auto exports to the United States would have received immediate duty-free access on the day it took effect.
The split in union ranks made it less likely that opposition from unions like the AFL-CIO can derail the trade pact.
Trumka said he hoped to work "closely" with the Obama administration to address the union's concerns in any future deals, especially the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.
The TPP currently includes four members -- Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore -- but is in negotiations to include the United States and four others.
Trumka also expressed concern that the US-South Korean accord "leaves open the possibility" that goods produced in the North Korean free trade zone, the Kaesong Industrial Complex, could reach US markets in the future.
"We shouldn't leave open the possibility of including these goods for two reasons: 1) grave concerns over the atrocious labor rights record in the KIC and 2) the impact on jobs and wages of the exports of these goods -- produced at perhaps the lowest wage levels in the world," he said.
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