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Agriculture should benefit while factory jobs won't. So we'll probably lose more unionized jobs to cheap labor overseas while gaining more jobs picking crops which will be done by illegals.
Corporate agriculture benefits but family farms suffer immensely under free trade. Free trade is a joke! It's a race to the bottom. We import oranges in the USA from Chile because the migrant workers who work in the orange groves are paid in food scraps off the back of a truck. We import beef from Uruguay because the minimum wage for workers in that country is $218 a month. American "capitalism" only appears to be profitable and prosperous because it relies on third world laborers like China with some of the worst environmental regulations and worker's rights in the world. Who benefits? Of course the rich elite who own all the multinational companies both public and private like Cargill. But yeah there's is no class warfare in America....we would be nothing without our rich overlords. F'ing pathetic how the American middle class has let our government and the corporation run roughshod over our way of life.
Corporate agriculture benefits but family farms suffer immensely under free trade. Free trade is a joke! It's a race to the bottom. We import oranges in the USA from Chile because the migrant workers who work in the orange groves are paid in food scraps off the back of a truck. We import beef from Uruguay because the minimum wage for workers in that country is $218 a month. American "capitalism" only appears to be profitable and prosperous because it relies on third world laborers like China with some of the worst environmental regulations and worker's rights in the world. Who benefits? Of course the rich elite who own all the multinational companies both public and private like Cargill. But yeah there's is no class warfare in America....we would be nothing without our rich overlords. F'ing pathetic how the American middle class has let our government and the corporation run roughshod over our way of life.
I agree w/ a lot of what you posted! As a small business person, I provide my services to people in the US. I suspect small farms operate the same way. It is really expensive to transport etc food...so their markets are probably closer to home.
Same I would suspect for landscapers, carpenters, electricians, shopkeepers and other small businesses.
It can take a lot of money to start up global operations...even though the payback is immense. The question is who enjoys the payback, and who is going to suffer.
Translators, bribes, administrative staff (possibly bilingual) to navigate the trade regulations, export/import channels etc. It is an expensive that only businesses with a lot of capitalization can undertake.
Personally, my success depends on people in the US being able to afford my services...I'm not alone. If jobs go to other countries...the small local business is going to be at risk.
Granted, American businesses overall may be more profitable...but look what the big players are doing with their record profits. Sharing or donating the millions? Using it to hire more workers and expand in the US? I think the brave march forward into Free Trade's going to bring more of the same.
I agree w/ a lot of what you posted! As a small business person, I provide my services to people in the US. I suspect small farms operate the same way. It is really expensive to transport etc food...so their markets are probably closer to home.
Same I would suspect for landscapers, carpenters, electricians, shopkeepers and other small businesses.
It can take a lot of money to start up global operations...even though the payback is immense. The question is who enjoys the payback, and who is going to suffer.
Translators, bribes, administrative staff (possibly bilingual) to navigate the trade regulations, export/import channels etc. It is an expensive that only businesses with a lot of capitalization can undertake.
Personally, my success depends on people in the US being able to afford my services...I'm not alone. If jobs go to other countries...the small local business is going to be at risk.
Granted, American businesses overall may be more profitable...but look what the big players are doing with their record profits. Sharing or donating the millions? Using it to hire more workers and expand in the US? I think the brave march forward into Free Trade's going to bring more of the same.
I also am a small business person, I provide U.S. manufactured products to people in and outside the US. I also provide engineering services, though now only to US customers. I sell products in Canada, Europe, and Dubai. My Dubai customers sought me out because my specialized appplications are unavailable there. My existing infrastructure allows me to easily market to and sell to foreign customers, so there is very little additional start-up cost. I do not plan on bribing anyone for market entry. I have been able to conduct all my foreign business in English (with a little French) and do not see that as a big obstacle.
I am just a small fish (not a big, evil corporation) and I am able to do this. My goal is to grow my market internationally - from a small business to a mid-size corporation within 5 years. I am excited about the global opportunities. I currently employ and will continue to employ Americans, pay their benefits, and purchase products from American suppliers.
FTAs only benefit large corporations. Everyone else suffers. We already know who Washington represents including the President and both parties of Congress and this is just another example of it.
Initially I was dead set against the Korea Trade Pact because the existing one allowed them to build cars in North Korea and send them here. It even had the South Korean Auto Workers in the streets. Apparently there have been some significant changes because the UAW has bought into this plan. I guess i'll have to wait and see
I also am a small business person, I provide U.S. manufactured products to people in and outside the US. I also provide engineering services, though now only to US customers. I sell products in Canada, Europe, and Dubai. My Dubai customers sought me out because my specialized appplications are unavailable there. My existing infrastructure allows me to easily market to and sell to foreign customers, so there is very little additional start-up cost. I do not plan on bribing anyone for market entry. I have been able to conduct all my foreign business in English (with a little French) and do not see that as a big obstacle.
I am just a small fish (not a big, evil corporation) and I am able to do this. My goal is to grow my market internationally - from a small business to a mid-size corporation within 5 years. I am excited about the global opportunities. I currently employ and will continue to employ Americans, pay their benefits, and purchase products from American suppliers.
What's your point? I hope this doesn't sound sarcastic as I am genuinely curious. If you're already doing business overseas, how will the new FTA's affect your business?
Initially I was dead set against the Korea Trade Pact because the existing one allowed them to build cars in North Korea and send them here. It even had the South Korean Auto Workers in the streets. Apparently there have been some significant changes because the UAW has bought into this plan. I guess i'll have to wait and see
I heard on C-Span (I believe) that the changes that were made to get US automotive industry on board are:
1. Korea allows importation of US cars that are below their safety standards.
2. A delay of some sort was worked in to keep SKorean manufacturers such as Kia from "flooding" the US market with lower cost vehicles.
3. Korea allows importation of US cars that don't meet emissions standards.
Working in Korea several years ago, the air pollution was horrible...at least in Seoul, so it doesn't sound like a "win" for Koreans...but I think the US is living in dreamland. S Koreans are a lot more nationalistic that Americans are, and it will take a LOT to get them to buy a non-Korean car.
Back when Hyundai made horrible cars, everybody drove one because they were Korean. I heard Crysler is selling cars there, but they're manufactured in S. Korea. The crux is that Big Automakers can open shop for manufacturing in S. Korea (makes Zero sense to build the cars in the US IMO, unless they've managed to finagle some giant subsidies) and be closer to the "emerging" markets in Asia.
I believe they'll end up employing workers in Asian countries, and selling the products to Korea, India, Singapore, China, etc...since the increasing under-employed US-based worker won't be able to afford the products. I think they'll manufacture a lower-quality, less-expensive product for the cash-strapped American consumer in Panama or Columbia. Closer to home, and less expensive workers.
I just wonder what they'll do once ALL the US workers are finally unemployed. But I guess they're all positioning themselves globally, so it doesn't matter where the workers or production centers are located.
What's your point? I hope this doesn't sound sarcastic as I am genuinely curious. If you're already doing business overseas, how will the new FTA's affect your business?
Simply providing the counterpoint to your post that implies that it is nearly impossible for a small business to start up global operations or export channels. You give examples of your service business, landscapers, carpenters, electricians, and shopkeepers - businesses that are fairly local in nature. In my industry (engineering, energy, software), exports are fairly common and very beneficial for small businesses employing U.S. workers. I also provided some stats to support this in my first post.
Thus, I support addition FTA's that will give small business owners in my industry additional global market opportunities. The SBA and every small business trade association in my industry also support these opportunities for small businesses to expand their international trade.
South Korea had been exporting electronics and automobiles to the US for decades without the FTA. We finally get to sell something back. Colombia has been exporting coffee (I believe that is the only legal export) for over a century and we now get to export to them. These agreements are long overdue.
I just wonder what they'll do once ALL the US workers are finally unemployed. But I guess they're all positioning themselves globally, so it doesn't matter where the workers or production centers are located.
So you believe there will be big net job losses due to the FTA? But the source you quoted states....
"Ratifying the U.S.-South Korea Free-Trade Agreement is a no-brainer, advocates say. Here’s why:
It would boost annual U.S. gross domestic product by an estimated $10 billion to $12 billion.
The deal fits nicely with President Obama’s vow to double U.S. exports within five years.
The pact gradually would lead to $10 billion in exports and create 70,000 new jobs for Americans.
South Korea has robust labor unions. That means, unlike other free-trade agreements, this pact is acceptable to many trade unions
AND
"We can sign the FTA or cede the market in Korea to [the EU and] other countries.” Under that scenario, the U.S. would lose 345,000 current and new jobs diverted to other free trade agreements, notes a U.S. Chamber of Commerce study."
AND
"With the U.S. struggling to maintain the economic recovery, trade is a vital tool. South Korea is the world’s 15th largest economy. And the $10 billion expansion in GDP and exports once the FTA is fully implemented – projected in a federally mandated impact study by the U.S. International Trade Commission – doesn’t include U.S. professional service providers such as accounting and law firms, which could open branches in South Korea for the first time, says Chul Chung, chief economist at the Korea International Trade Association."
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F'ing pathetic how the American middle class has let our government and the corporation run roughshod over our way of life.
As a small business person, I provide my services to people in the US. I suspect small farms operate the same way. It is really expensive to transport etc food...so their markets are probably closer to home.
