South Korea Agreement: A Bad Deal for the U.S. Auto Industry

The South Korean trade agreement is another example of those representing the administration not going to bat for the American auto industry. It’s a bad deal for American workers and American businesses. By hastily pushing through this deal before the fast track deadline the Administration has delivered another agreement that will increase our trade deficit, cost us jobs, and hurt our automobile industry.

Our nation’s automobile manufacturers are the country’s largest employers. They are struggling to stay competitive in a global marketplace, and one of the main reasons for that is the Administration’s refusal to stand up for American businesses by enforcing trade laws and opening markets, instead standing idly by as factory doors close across the country.

Trade only works when the playing field is level, and there is nothing fair about an agreement that allows over 750,000 South Korean automobiles into America annually while South Korea continues to use high tariffs and other trade barriers to limit the number of American cars they import to fewer than 5,000 a year.

It is striking to see the intensity of the South Koreans to protect their auto industry and the willingness of those representing the Administration to give up our auto industry, our middle class, and our workers.

American workers deserve an agreement that is fair for America — one that raises the standard of living, ensures market access to both countries, and upholds competition. This agreement fails on all counts. I will do everything in my power to defeat this agreement and ensure that any future fast-track authority includes provisions guaranteeing that American businesses and workers can get a fair deal.