Congress Okays Job-Destroying Korea FTA
BOSTON — October 13, 2011 — Last evening the U.S. House voted (Roll Call Vote 783), 278 to 151, and
the U.S. Senate voted (Call Vote 161), 83 to 15, to implement the United States-Korea Trade
Agreement (H.R.3080).
Under the Agreement, 90% of U.S. duties on textile and apparel products from Korea go to zero immediately upon implementation, while Korea will be given additional time to phase out its duties on U.S. products. Korea will also be permitted to keep its current 10% tax on imports from the U.S. and is free to increase that tax at any time. U.S. duties will be permanently locked in at zero under the Agreement.
Fabric will qualify for duty-free entry if it is formed in the U.S. or Korea of yarn formed in the U.S. or Korea. Apparel will qualify if the single fabric component that determines the tariff classification of the apparel is made in U.S. or Korea of yarn made in U.S. or Korea. Certain visible linings in apparel will also have to originate in the partner countries. All other textile components -- such as narrow fabrics, pocketing, sewing thread, and so forth -- may come from anywhere in the world.
According to the Annex 22 of the Agreement, a Committee to "review whether conditions on the Korean Peninsula are appropriate for further economic development through the establishment and development of outward processing zones." Outward Processing Zones is a bureaucratic euphemism for the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea where South Korean firms operate sweatshops. If the Committee, after "review," okays it, goods from North Korea zones could be shipped to South Korea and then exported to the U.S. as "Products of South Korea" and enter the U.S. duty-free, thus evading the U.S. embargo on imports from North Korea.
Illegal transshipment through Korea is a major concern for U.S. textile manufacturers. On May 5, 2011, in testimony before the Senate Committee on Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness Allen Gina, Assistant Commissioner of International Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection cited specific instances of goods of Chinese origin and subject to AD or CVD orders being illegally transshipped and singled out South Korea, along with Mexico, Malaysia, and Vietnam as the worst offenders.
Intellectual property rights protection is also a concern with Korea, and we note that in September 2011 American company DuPont won a nearly $1 billion judgment against South Korean company Kolon Industries for stealing Kevlar trade secrets.
Posted on October 18, 2011
Source: NTA
Under the Agreement, 90% of U.S. duties on textile and apparel products from Korea go to zero immediately upon implementation, while Korea will be given additional time to phase out its duties on U.S. products. Korea will also be permitted to keep its current 10% tax on imports from the U.S. and is free to increase that tax at any time. U.S. duties will be permanently locked in at zero under the Agreement.
Fabric will qualify for duty-free entry if it is formed in the U.S. or Korea of yarn formed in the U.S. or Korea. Apparel will qualify if the single fabric component that determines the tariff classification of the apparel is made in U.S. or Korea of yarn made in U.S. or Korea. Certain visible linings in apparel will also have to originate in the partner countries. All other textile components -- such as narrow fabrics, pocketing, sewing thread, and so forth -- may come from anywhere in the world.
According to the Annex 22 of the Agreement, a Committee to "review whether conditions on the Korean Peninsula are appropriate for further economic development through the establishment and development of outward processing zones." Outward Processing Zones is a bureaucratic euphemism for the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea where South Korean firms operate sweatshops. If the Committee, after "review," okays it, goods from North Korea zones could be shipped to South Korea and then exported to the U.S. as "Products of South Korea" and enter the U.S. duty-free, thus evading the U.S. embargo on imports from North Korea.
Illegal transshipment through Korea is a major concern for U.S. textile manufacturers. On May 5, 2011, in testimony before the Senate Committee on Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness Allen Gina, Assistant Commissioner of International Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection cited specific instances of goods of Chinese origin and subject to AD or CVD orders being illegally transshipped and singled out South Korea, along with Mexico, Malaysia, and Vietnam as the worst offenders.
Intellectual property rights protection is also a concern with Korea, and we note that in September 2011 American company DuPont won a nearly $1 billion judgment against South Korean company Kolon Industries for stealing Kevlar trade secrets.
Posted on October 18, 2011
Source: NTA
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