Obama Holds Firm on Trade Deal

Obama will return to the US with no free trade agreement with Korea.  Apparently, Korea objected to opening their markets to US goods, a stark departure from the Republican deal, negotiated by the Bush Regime, but rejected by Congress.

Negotiations over a U.S.-Korea free-trade agreement broke down on Thursday after four days of discussions, a setback for the leaders of the two nations and a blow to efforts to rekindle broader world trade talks…

…South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and President Obama began their scheduled meeting around noon Thursday in Seoul without a deal in hand. A White House official familiar with the talks said the discussions foundered over long-standing disagreements over U.S. access to the Korean auto and beef markets.

The meeting between the two heads of state ended without an accord. At a news conference afterward with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Obama said, “We believe that such an agreement, if done right, could be a win-win for our people.”

“We have asked out teams to work tirelessly in the next days and weeks to get an agreement, and we are confident we will do so,” Obama said.

The failure to produce a signed agreement at the summit is significant. Obama had set a personal goal of completing the Korea deal during the meeting of the Group of 20 world leaders, and Lee had cast the agreement as way to deepen the strategic and political ties between the two nations, as well as the economic ones… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Washington Post>

I do not see this as a failure on Obama’s part.  I support free trade with the caveat that it must also be fair trade, not just vehicles to export US jobs to enrich greedy corporations, the hallmark of trade deals under both Clinton and Bush.  One cannot blame Korea for trying to get what everyone else has gotten, thus giving themselves a level playing field with China and Japan.  To Obama’s credit, he said no.  That’s the first step in negotiating honest bargains, fair to both American workers.