Some 57,000 Minnesota jobs at risk under proposed Korean trade pact

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Workday Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS - Approximately 57,000 Minnesotans work in industries at risk of being off-shored should a proposed trade pact with South Korea be enacted, the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition said.

According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, the proposed trade agreement will increase the U.S. global trade deficit, negatively affecting employment in industries prevalent in Minnesota, the federation said. The findings are at odds with President Obama’s remarks during Tuesday’s State of the Union speech that passage of the agreement would create jobs in the United States.

“With 7 percent unemployment in Minnesota, more than 9 percent unemployment across our country and an electorate that is strongly opposed to more NAFTA-style trade agreements, it is baffling why any member of Congress would support a deal that even the International Trade Commission says will increase our trade deficit,” said Steve Hunter, secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota AFL-CIO.

Since the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect in 1994, the U.S. Labor Department has certified 33,800 individual Minnesota jobs as lost to either direct off-shoring or displacement by imports. This figure is almost certainly low, given that service-sector jobs shipped overseas were not typically counted in the data set until midway through 2009. In terms of volume of trade, the Korea FTA is the largest pact of its type since NAFTA.



Read more: http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_4739

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[defendandprotect]

1. Our elected officials don't belong to us any longer ... we can wait until they've sold off

eveything before we begin to unite -- or we can do it before we are

further weakened? But, we should at least begin by uniting the public --

the employed and the unemployed -- what's left of the unions --

and we need to find some Democratic leadership other than Obama for 2012!!

Obama is very busy making these new deals!

[MrTriumph]

2. But Obama says trade with India is good for us. He can't be wrong, can he?

He's a shill for Wall Street, get it?

[obxhead]

3. Is this change?

Or should it be considered hope?

Just curious.

So just yesterday Obama was calling for support of increased exports. It appears what he is really interested in exporting is thousands of US jobs.

Thanks for the info. Rec.

[madrchsod]

4. my first trade union job in the 70`s was shipped to Korea and Taiwan

i thought i voted for a democrat not a republican. obama does`t give a fuck about the american worker.

[Populist_Prole]

5. Wonder how conservatives feel about a "job killing" trade pact?

Because you know they would never let making a buck stand in the way of ideology! :sarcasm:

[midnight]

6. K&R Another example of jobless recovery.....

[JDPriestly]

7. I strongly disagreed with the President's plan to enter into more

trade agreements.

Every time a trade agreement is proposed we are promised that this time it will lead to more exports and jobs in the US. That promise is never, never kept. Each trade agreement increases only our imports, decreases jobs available and speeds our descent into bankruptcy.

We do not need these trade agreements. We need tariffs -- targeted to increase employment here.

Americans do not benefit from these trade agreements.

Two issues on which Obama is terribly wrong -- trade and education.

[pam4water]

8. Korean has the lowest minimum wage of the industrialized nations about 3.65 an hr

or 4110 south korean won. Or a little under what Mexican factories worker makes in a day.

[SHRED]

9. But corporations need to be more competitive...

...Isn't that what he said last night?

:sarcasm:

[JJW]

10. Shame on you

This is a reminder of Hillary Clinton saying "Shame on you, Barack Obama" for telling Ohioans that he would renegotiate NAFTA while telling Canada he wasn't serious, it was just campaign rhetoric.

[annm4peace]

11. Read the article. MN need to pressure their Congress members

"Congressman Erik Paulsen, Republican from the 3rd District, is not only a proponent of the Korea agreement, but is co-chair of the Congressional Korea-U.S. Free Trade Working Group which is focused on the agreement's swift passage. Congressman Tim Walz, Democrat from the 1st District, has not stated his position on the Korea FTA. The Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition is urging all of Minnesota's members of Congress to oppose the trade pact.

“Whether or not Congress approves this pact will depend in no small part on how Minnesota’s Congressional delegation votes,” said Jessica Lettween, director of the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition. “In today’s economic climate, it would be unthinkable for our elected officials to support another job-killing trade agreement. The high cost of so-called 'free' trade is something workers just can't afford.” "

Sadly MN has corporate tools like Michele Bachmann.

[corpseratemedia]

12. Democrats can't keep touting job-murdering "free-trade" pacts without

looking like they are stabbing the American people in the back. It isn't working anymore, the propaganda. May work for the shills on CNBC, which is why people should really cancel the cable en masse. ( sorry a diversion here - why support this crock of shit always being fed to us as real public policy when it destroyed the country? We need to send a message to the propaganda masters.)

I'm glad there ARE Democrats who are fighting for America.

[xchrom]

13. recommend

[Safetykitten]

14. Are there no community colleges? Are there no WalMarts?