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By GI Korea on January 27th, 2010 at 9:51 pm

In the State of the Union Address Did President Obama Really Support An FTA With South Korea?

» by GI Korea in: Politics-US

Here are some quick thoughts from tonight’s State of the Union Address.  There wasn’t much of any substance Korea related, but For everyone interested in Korea you may have heard President Obama seem to indicate that he now supports a Free Trade Agreement with South Korea.  However, look closely at what he said:

We have to seek new markets aggressively, just as our competitors are. If America sits on the sidelines while other nations sign trade deals, we will lose the chance to create jobs on our shores. But realizing those benefits also means enforcing those agreements so our trading partners play by the rules. And that’s why we will continue to shape a Doha trade agreement that opens global markets, and why we will strengthen our trade relations in Asia and with key partners like South Korea, Panama, and Colombia.  [Transcript from Huffington Post]

Judging from the wording, “strengthen our trade relations” is a far cry from actually passing an FTA.  At this point I have the same attitude in regards to the FTA as I do with the Yongsan relocation plan; I would have to see both actually happen before I believe any more rhetoric from people saying it will.

Here is what the President has had to say about North Korea:

These diplomatic efforts have also strengthened our hand in dealing with those nations that insist on violating international agreements in pursuit of these weapons. That is why North Korea now faces increased isolation, and stronger sanctions – sanctions that are being vigorously enforced.

I have been mostly supportive of the President’s North Korea policies, which have been much better than the 2nd term Bush administration’s DPRK policies.  However, I am still wondering when he is going to mention anything about North Korean human rights or put the country back on the State Sponsors of Terrorism List?

UPDATE: One Free Korea has weighed in on the speech and is probably right on where the President’s North Korea policy is ultimately headed.

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  • JoeC
    8:32 pm on January 29th, 2010 1

    If you saw the President’s hour long exchange with House Republicans at their conference today, he did comment more on FTAs in general and on the need for an FTA with South Korea in particular.

    On the specific issue of trade, you’re right, there are conflicts within and fissures within the Democratic Party. I suspect there are probably going to be some fissures within the Republican Party, as well. I mean, you know, if you went to some of your constituencies, they’d be pretty suspicious about it, new trade agreements, because the suspicion is somehow they’re all one way.

    So part of what we’ve been trying to do is to make sure that we’re getting the enforcement side of this tight, make sure that if we’ve got a trade agreement with China or other countries, that they are abiding with it — they’re not stealing our intellectual property or making sure that their non-tariff barriers are lowered even as ours are opened up. And my hope is, is that we can move forward with some of these trade agreements having built some confidence — not just among particular constituency groups, but among the American people — that trade is going to be reciprocal; that it’s not just going to be a one-way street.

    You are absolutely right though, Peter, when you say, for example, South Korea is a great ally of ours. I mean, when I visited there, there is no country that is more committed to friendship on a whole range of fronts than South Korea. What is also true is that the European Union is about to sign a trade agreement with South Korea, which means right at the moment when they start opening up their markets, the Europeans might get in there before we do.

    So we’ve got to make sure that we seize these opportunities. I will be talking more about trade this year. It’s going to have to be trade that combines opening their markets with an enforcement mechanism, as well as just opening up our markets. I think that’s something that all of us would agree on. Let’s see if we can execute it over the next several years. All right, is that it?

    Reply

  • In the State of the Union Address Did President Obama Really … | northkorea News Station
    12:06 am on January 30th, 2010 2

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  • Adam Cathcart
    3:33 pm on January 30th, 2010 3

    Glad to see this discussed, and JoeC is also right on — I also thought it was interesting that the FTA with South Korea was so on the President’s mind that he just sort of burst out with it near the end of his session with House Republicans in Baltimore.

    Reply

 

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