Trade deal between South Korea and the US takes effect

[Lasher]

8. Obama Does a "Lose-Lose" by South Korea Free Trade Agreement

Sat, 12/04/2010

Obama has announced a new trade agreement with South Korea. There is just one new tweak that is better than before, the tariff schedule on autos.

The new agreement calls for South Korea to reduce its tariff on U.S. auto imports from 8% to 4%, and fully eliminate it in five years.

Meanwhile, the 2.5% U.S. tariff on auto imports will remain in place until the fifth year, instead of being immediately eliminated as specified in the 2007 agreement.

Here's what Public Citizen said about the auto tweaks:

Merely tweaking the “cars and cows” market access provisions of Bush’s NAFTA-style Korea trade pact but leaving in place the offshoring-promoting foreign investor protections is a slap in the face to the majority of Americans who, according to repeated polls, oppose the same old trade policy that has cost millions of American jobs.

http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/obama-does-lose-lose-south-korea-free-trade-agreement

For the next 5 years South Korea will have a net 1.5% tariff on US auto imports. That's better than the exasperating 5.5% difference that would have continued under GWB's 2007 agreement, had it been ratified. But US automakers did not get a level playing field out of this.

South Korea has pledged to stop the outright rejection of US beef shipments, and to reduce their current 40% tariff on US beef over the next 15 years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/03/news/03iht-oxan.0403.5124955.html?_r=1