June 9, 2007 10:02 AM

Clinton Announces Opposition to South Korea Trade Pact

A few months ago, John Edwards announced his opposition to the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, and demanded Congress reject it. Now, in another piece of good news, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has announced her opposition.

The press release I just received from her campaign is in the extended entry.

Hillary Clinton Announces Opposition to the South Korean Free Trade Agreement

Hillary Clinton today announced that she will oppose ratification of the South Korean Free Trade Agreement. Speaking at a townhall event hosted by the AFL-CIO in Detroit, Michigan, Clinton said the agreement would harm the U.S. automotive industry and put American jobs at risk. While the trade agreement gives South Korea unimpeded access to the U.S. auto market, it does not go far enough to ensure that South Korea dismantles the barriers that have long blocked American vehicles from being sold there.

"Trade agreements need to be fair if they’re going to work," Clinton said. "While I value the strong relationship the United States enjoys with South Korea, I believe that this agreement is inherently unfair. It will hurt the U.S. auto industry, increase our trade deficit, cost us good middle-class jobs, and make America less competitive."

Although South Korean carmakers have had broad access to the U.S. market, American carmakers have been systematically blocked from selling in South Korea. Last year, South Korea exported 700,000 cars to the United States, but American carmakers were only able to sell 6,000 cars in South Korea. Upwards of 80% of our $13 billion trade deficit with South Korea derives from the imbalance in car sales.

The proposed trade agreement would only exacerbate this unfair and harmful situation. While the agreement requires South Korea to dismantle its formal trade barriers, it does not go far enough to ensure that South Korea will also eliminate the multitude of informal barriers that severely restrict the sale of American vehicles. Unless those barriers fall, American carmakers will face increased competition at home and won’t get greater access to South Korea’s market.

The South Korea trade pact is one of the pacts that was included in the larger secret deal to approve a package of trade deals that a handful of congressional Democrats and the White House announced last month. So Clinton and Edwards' opposition to it could complicate that secret deal.

Make no mistake about it - the South Korea deal is the easiest out of the pending trade deals to oppose, because there are at least some Big Money interests (like the automakers) opposed to it. And you'll notice that Clinton's opposition is based less on human concerns like wages and jobs and more on larger corporate concerns like access to markets. Nonetheless, this is a great announcement and she should be applauded for it.