Jeff Sessions on the Korean FTA: raw deal

Thanks to a post from Malcolm, I was led to Republican senator Jeff Sessions's website, on which he is displaying a letter (an open letter now, I suppose) to President Obama that asks for more transparency. Malcolm was making a particular point in linking to Sessions's website, but I couldn't fail to notice some Korea-relevant text inside Session's letter to Obama. To wit:

The U.S. ran a record $51.4 billion trade deficit in March, the [highest level] recorded in six years. This is especially concerning since assurances were made from the Administration that the recent South Korea free trade deal would “increase exports of American goods by $10 billion to $11 billion.” But, in fact, American domestic exports to Korea increased by only $0.8 billion, an increase of 1.8 percent, while imports from Korea increased $12.6 billion, an increase of 22.5 percent. Our trade deficit with Korea increased $11.8 billion between 2011 and 2014, an increase of 80.4 percent, nearly doubling in the three years since the deal was ratified.

Not good, although the disparity between Korea's FTA gains and America's is also due, in large part, to how Koreans do business—worthy of a post in itself.


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