How did I not know about this org before? I discovered today there’s a group called Korean Americans for Fair Trade (KAFT); its raison d’etre seems mainly to prevent the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KorUS FTA) from going through.

Until today, I didn’t even know such a thing as the KorUS FTA was being debated — despite the fact that the deal “would also be the biggest such accord for Washington since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993.”

KorUS FTA is in the very late stages of discussions. Talks started 10 months ago; at the moment, these talks are in the 8th — and final — round of negotiations. In fact, formal talks on this round — which took place in Seoul — have already ended. Top-level reps from both countries are now engaging in “a series of ‘informal’ talks.” (past speeches and transcripts from govt officials are avaliable on the Office of the US Trade Representative site)

According to Yonhap News, a deal has to be hacked out by the end of this month to “take advantage of U.S. President George W. Bush’s “fast-track” trade promotion authority which expires on July 1. That authority requires a mandatory 90-day congressional review of a deal for a yes-or-no vote without amendments.”

Reportage on the issue is pretty scant in the US, though an Associated Press article that recaps the issue was picked up by a bunch of papers. South Korean newspapers report that a prominent group of 38 lawmakers have come out in opposition to the agreement. Editorials have been published on both sides: One in Yonhap News calls the current negotiations one-sided in favor of the US. Another in Chosunilbo lauds the agreement, saying it’ll bring Korea that NAFTA brought Mexico. Um, dude — NAFTA has been v. v. bad for Mexico. KAFT points this out:

We are not convinced that the KorUS FTA will be beneficial to ordinary American workers and farmers. In the United States, unfettered free trade has been directly responsible for the massive loss of jobs and erosion of hard-won benefits and rights for workers, unions, and the middle class. Nowhere has this been more apparent today than with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

There are also reports of big marches and rallies opposing KorUS FTA — complete with clubbing and water cannons from police — and hunger strikes to boot.

Reading all of this today made me realize how completely out of touch I am with the world outside the US, despite what seems to me like vast amounts of time spent reading the news….

What you can do: After reading about the KorUS FTA, I wrote to join the KAFT email list, and a woman called Christine wrote back, saying that KAFT’s circulating a civil society letter about the FTA that they’re looking for organizations to sign. If you’re part of any such organization, please contact KAFT at christineahn at mac dot com. Individuals can sign up for the KAFT email list by writing to the same email addy.

Update, 4/3/07: The Korean and US negotiators hacked out a last-minute deal, but it still has to be ratified in both countries — so fingers crossed. Here’s a super informative and detailed post about the issue from Ben Muse (thnx Fletch).

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