‘If this is success, we’re in a heap of trouble,’ says USW Pres. Gerard

Leo W. Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers (USW) issued the following statement today in advance of tomorrow’s one-year anniversary of the implementation of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.

“Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of the start of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.   The anniversary will spark a debate about whether the FTA has been successful or not.   Of course, it’s early.   But, if this is success, we’re in a heap of trouble.

“The early figures sound like a good news, bad news joke.   First, the good news:  “According to Korean statistics, the registrations of vehicles manufactured by Ford have jumped by 23 percent, from 2011 to 2012.  

“Now, the bad news:   That annual increase was a mere 942 vehicles from 4,184 to 5,126 Fords registered in South Korea.  Meanwhile South Korean companies sold more than 1.26 MILLION cars here in the U.S., in 2012 alone.  Clearly, the huge imbalance in auto trade has only been solidified by this ill-conceived trade agreement ... more