AMERICAN CRITICS BLAST S. KOREAN-U.S. FREE TRADE TALKS

Asia Pulse

September 5, 2006 Tuesday 4:37 PM EST

SECTION: NATIONWIDE INTERNATIONAL NEWS

LENGTH: 482 words

HEADLINE: AMERICAN CRITICS BLAST S. KOREAN-U.S. FREE TRADE TALKS

DATELINE: SEATTLE Sept 5

BODY: American opponents of a proposed South Korean-U.S. free trade accord on Monday accused the deal of devastating the lives of workers in both countries, while benefiting only big businesses.

About 60 South Korean farmers and factory workers will join "thousands" of their American supporters in a peaceful rally on Wednesday to coincide with the start of a third round of free trade talks between the two nations.

"We oppose the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement because it doesn't provide protections for workers in both countries," said David Freiboth, an official of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the country's biggest labor group.

"It's an agreement that will be done in secret ... and labor and other social issues will not be placed on the table," Freiboth said in a rally at Judkins Park, downtown Seattle.

South Korea's chief negotiator Kim Jong-hoon and Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler were due to lead the talks, which the protesters say will threaten the livelihood of farmers and factory workers.

The two sides hope to wrap up the talks by the end of this year, aimed at giving time for lawmakers from each country to ratify an agreement before June next year when the U.S. president's "fast track" authority runs out. The authority allows U.S. trade officials to negotiate a deal without Congressional amendments.

Upon his arrival at a Seattle airport earlier in the day, Kim called prospects for the third round "tough."

"I think we are expected to face many difficulties during the third round in narrowing gaps," he said. During the third round, South Korea and the U.S. will hold talks on 19 categories, including agriculture, services and autos.

American activists claim free trade agreements serve only the interests of big businesses rather than the two countries' workers.

"I think the agreement will benefit big corporate entities but hurt workers in Korea and the United States," said Barbara Phinney, president of the American Federation of Government Employees.

"Our big rice producers will undermine Korean farmers, and will hurt Korea," She said. "But, American workers don't benefit from them."

Though free trade agreements are widely touted for encouraging foreign direct investment and boosting economies, most of these investments are through mergers and acquisitions, resulting in job losses, said Paul Pembeaton, a union official of a Seattle labor organization called ILWU.

"Free trade agreements should be made in a fair manner, but we haven't seen a fair free trade deal so far," he said.

He cited a free trade deal among the U.S., Canada and Mexico as an example where workers lost their jobs.

The 1994 agreement sent formerly high paying manufacturing jobs to Mexico, forced Mexican subsistence farmers to the cities, and drove wages down, leading many to risk their lives immigrating to the U.S., he added.

(Yonhap)

LOAD-DATE: September 6, 2006