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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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 Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:31 pm Post subject: South Korea and USA trade deal |
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15284813
Hopefully, this will mean that the greedy rip-off merchants here in Korea will no longer be able to blame the US for their exorbitant markups. |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:39 pm Post subject: |
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| By the way, I am clearly not versed in the finer points of economics so I am genuinely interested in how this may benefit us. |
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itistime
Joined: 23 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:18 pm Post subject: |
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Much better beer without the 300% tax mark-ups.
But, you really won't see benefits of this
agreement for 2-3 more years.
Not good for SK, though. I don't think. |
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highstreet
Joined: 13 Nov 2010
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| Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:31 pm Post subject: |
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Can you really call them greedy?
If a business owner marks up his imported products and people still buy them, is that really greed? |
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akcrono
Joined: 11 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 3:21 am Post subject: |
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| highstreet wrote: |
Can you really call them greedy?
If a business owner marks up his imported products and people still buy them, is that really greed? |
Yes. Greed is an unhealthy desire for wealth and property. Has nothing to do with demand. |
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tideout
Joined: 12 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 3:34 am Post subject: |
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| akcrono wrote: |
| highstreet wrote: |
Can you really call them greedy?
If a business owner marks up his imported products and people still buy them, is that really greed? |
Yes. Greed is an unhealthy desire for wealth and property. Has nothing to do with demand. |
Yeah, gotta agree. This is what greed looks like. |
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coralreefer_1
Joined: 19 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 4:32 am Post subject: |
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| itistime wrote: |
Much better beer without the 300% tax mark-ups.
But, you really won't see benefits of this
agreement for 2-3 more years.
Not good for SK, though. I don't think. |
I think in the long term..this will be good for both countries...in particular S. Korea.
And when I make that assertion, I do not mean good by increasing exports, reducing prices for goods, or the increases to GDP that are supposedly expected. I think it will be good for S. Korea because it will show the rest of Asia that they are taking steps to me more globally friendly in regards to economics and trade. Also the benefit to Korea of strengthening political, economic, and security relations between the two countries benefits Korea itself not only on the surface, but feeds into Korea's unspoken competition with other Asian countries to be close to (or under the protective wing of) the US.
Also as mentioned, it is true that most of us will likely not see impact for years down the road. 95% of US agricultural goods will see immediate reduction in tariffs, but many of these are things that common consumers do not buy ( hides, lumber...etc) while the things that we are more likely to buy will take years to have their tariff eliminated, and in the case of US beef which is currently taxed at 40%, will take 15 YEARS to have this tariff eliminated. |
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tideout
Joined: 12 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 5:03 am Post subject: |
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| coralreefer_1 wrote: |
| itistime wrote: |
Much better beer without the 300% tax mark-ups.
But, you really won't see benefits of this
agreement for 2-3 more years.
Not good for SK, though. I don't think. |
I think in the long term..this will be good for both countries...in particular S. Korea.
And when I make that assertion, I do not mean good by increasing exports, reducing prices for goods, or the increases to GDP that are supposedly expected. I think it will be good for S. Korea because it will show the rest of Asia that they are taking steps to me more globally friendly in regards to economics and trade. Also the benefit to Korea of strengthening political, economic, and security relations between the two countries benefits Korea itself not only on the surface, but feeds into Korea's unspoken competition with other Asian countries to be close to (or under the protective wing of) the US.
Also as mentioned, it is true that most of us will likely not see impact for years down the road. 95% of US agricultural goods will see immediate reduction in tariffs, but many of these are things that common consumers do not buy ( hides, lumber...etc) while the things that we are more likely to buy will take years to have their tariff eliminated, and in the case of US beef which is currently taxed at 40%, will take 15 YEARS to have this tariff eliminated. |
Call me a non-believer I guess, but I do think some of these trade "breakthroughs" are a bit overstated (at least). The breakdown of trade barriers had disastrous after NAFTA and in too many parts of the world these agreements only benefit the corporations who engineered them behind the scenes.
Maybe it's just your way of stating it, but I guess it's part of international statesmanship to play your bets vis a vis other stronger players in the region (ie. SK hedging its bets against a growing China).
Last edited by tideout on Fri Nov 04, 2011 1:42 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Wildbore
Joined: 17 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:10 pm Post subject: |
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| tideout wrote: |
| coralreefer_1 wrote: |
| itistime wrote: |
Much better beer without the 300% tax mark-ups.
But, you really won't see benefits of this
agreement for 2-3 more years.
Not good for SK, though. I don't think. |
I think in the long term..this will be good for both countries...in particular S. Korea.
And when I make that assertion, I do not mean good by increasing exports, reducing prices for goods, or the increases to GDP that are supposedly expected. I think it will be good for S. Korea because it will show the rest of Asia that they are taking steps to me more globally friendly in regards to economics and trade. Also the benefit to Korea of strengthening political, economic, and security relations between the two countries benefits Korea itself not only on the surface, but feeds into Korea's unspoken competition with other Asian countries to be close to (or under the protective wing of) the US.
Also as mentioned, it is true that most of us will likely not see impact for years down the road. 95% of US agricultural goods will see immediate reduction in tariffs, but many of these are things that common consumers do not buy ( hides, lumber...etc) while the things that we are more likely to buy will take years to have their tariff eliminated, and in the case of US beef which is currently taxed at 40%, will take 15 YEARS to have this tariff eliminated. |
Call me a non-believer I guess, but I do think some of these trade "breakthroughs" are a bit overstated (at least). The breakdown of trade barriers had disastrous after NAFTA and in too many parts of the world these agreements only benefit the corporations who engineered them behind the scenes.
Maybe it's just your way of stating it, but I guess it's part of international statesmanship to play your bets vis a vis other stronger players in the region (ie. SK hedging its bets against a growing China). The US looks more an more like an empire in decline - I'm not sure if there's much of a guarantee in it frankly. Different issues but if I'm not mistaken, the US just backed off a rather large military sale to Taiwan after complaints from Bejing. Not saying what will happen but - don't think I'd wanna be a pawn on any US chessboards. |
Get a clue. After NAFTA, there was a CLEAR and HEAVY increase in trading volumes between the US, CAnada, and Mexico.
The thousands of jobs created in the trucking business alone probably justified the agreement. Then you have the people building the trucks, planes, etc. Those people buy goods in the economy.
That is just from the volume increase. Corporations don't give a darn about trade barriers, they can pay the tariffs. It's the small businesses and entrepreneurs, the guys who have tight margins, who now have access to more markets, that's where the job creation comes from.
MOD EDIT |
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michi gnome
Joined: 15 Feb 2006
Location: Dokdo
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| Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 2:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Get a clue. After NAFTA, there was a CLEAR and HEAVY increase in trading volumes between the US, CAnada, and Mexico. |
Right, and U.S. dumped cheap grain onto Mexican market, destroying livelihoods for tons of farmers. Result, millions more trying to cross border into U.S. for work.
Victory= transnational corporations, with allegiance to no country.
Losers= people who work for a living.
| Quote: |
| The thousands of jobs created in the trucking business alone probably justified the agreement. |
That industry is in the process of being destroyed by transnational corporations. Recently, previous NAFTA agreement has finally passed allowing Mexican truckers to travel deep into the U.S. Now it is just a matter of time before big trucking companies decide "why don't we just relocate south of the border, hire only Mexican truckers, and pay them 1/10th what were paying U.S. drivers." More downward pressure on wages for what is probably the last somewhat decent paying job that doeesn't require a college degree.
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| Corporations don't give a darn about trade barriers, they can pay the tariffs. |
Then why do they spend millions of dollars lobbying to ensure that they pay nothing for tariffs? "NO, can't have tariffs, that would be protectionist." Tariffs might have kept the U.S. from giving it's manufacturing base to China.
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| It's the small businesses and entrepreneurs, the guys who have tight margins, who now have access to more markets, that's where the job creation comes from. |
Doubtful. This latest bit of SHAFTA (NAFTA) probably will not have much, if any, positive effect on small businesses or entrepreneurs. Whatever you are smoking, I want some of it. The only clear winners here are big business. The only jobs created will likely be in China.
The only guarantee for the U.S. is more outsourcing and mega-profits for the global masters of money. For Korea, I wonder how happy the average farmer is about all the cheap American beef soon to flood its markets. Korean farmers will be unable to compete, and you'll see alot of them forced out of the business, just what happened with Mexican farmers.
Victory= transnational corporations, with allegiance to no country.
Losers= people who work for a living. |
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michi gnome
Joined: 15 Feb 2006
Location: Dokdo
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| Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 2:46 pm Post subject: |
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The BBC article linked by the OP is pretty thin on details. Try this article for a more in-depth perspective.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/10/12-9
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The Tricks of the Trade Deals
This week, Congress will vote on three free trade agreements that are predicted to kill jobs and solidify corporate power. It's our turn to have a say in how we trade.
by Kristen Beifus and Christa Hillstrom
Last week, President Obama submitted to Congress no fewer than three "hangover" free trade agreements (FTA's) originally negotiated by the Bush administration. All three bills have been widely opposed by labor organizations, environmental groups, human rights activists, and others for their strong likelihood of offshoring U.S. jobs, further deregulating the corporate sector, hurting the livelihoods of farming communities, and ignoring labor and environmental standards and human rights. They are expected to be voted on Wednesday.
Since negotiations on it first began, more than 700,000 South Koreans have protested the largest of the three pending agreements, the U.S.-Korea Trade Agreement, or KORUS.
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methdxman
Joined: 14 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 4:11 pm Post subject: |
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| cj1976 wrote: |
| By the way, I am clearly not versed in the finer points of economics so I am genuinely interested in how this may benefit us. |
In theory the following should happen:
American industries and corporations will enter Korea much easier and be heavily competitive here. Automobiles and Apple come to mind immediately. But it extends far beyond this and the biggest impact will probably be in raw materials and commodities; stuff we can't really see.
Depending on the type of products that get through we'll see a different impact on the economy. New, cheap prime material from the U.S. might drive a supplier of these goods here out of business, but it may be able to make final goods cheaper for the Korean consumer. In the case of final products that are in direct competition with Korean companies (cars) we should see prices here going down in general due to increased competition.
Large chaebols will have to face the reality of a globalized economy and start to become efficient due to increased competition. Yes, this means no more 800 people in the mail room at a Korean company.
Trade surplus will be reduced... which has tons of implications on the exchange rates and net capital inflow into the country.
All of this is in theory, we'll see how it's implemented. |
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alwaysgood
Joined: 15 Aug 2011
Location: Changwon
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| Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 4:20 pm Post subject: |
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| Free trade is good for the world economy. I'm glad they are doing this. It will cost the US some manufacturing jobs I think, but will be good for businesses and consumers. |
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Mr. Kalgukshi
Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Location: Here or on the International Job Forums
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| Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 5:24 pm Post subject: |
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Unposter
Joined: 04 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 6:14 pm Post subject: |
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I don't think anyone, even Lee Myungbak and Barrach Obama, know what is in this bill except the various trade representatives who actually wrote the bill but this is a few things I've heard which may affect us:
1. Korean medicinal companies won't be allowed to make "knock-offs" of American medicianl company's medicines. This will mean higher medicine prices across the board.
2. American hospitals will have access to the Korean medical market. They will probably specialize in high end medicaine for rich Koreans and probably rich Chinese who come to Korea for medical care.
3. American educational companies will have more open access to the Korean market. This will most likely change the way private education is done in Korea. The actual outcome of this I think is uncertain but it could mean that more and more English education will be done at American private schools with certified American teachers and less in Korean public schools and private academies (which will have to more and more specialize in test preperation). Possible additional fall out could be a much larger preference for licenced American teachers rather than Canadian, Australian etc... don't know but if American companies take a larger piece of the pie, it could. I also would expect wages to go down as more and more of these positions will be filled from people in America who have never been to Korea before but that is just speculation as well.
4. The demand for Koreans who speak English well will increase as more and more Koreans will work for American companies located in Korea.
5. Free economic zones, especailly around Incheon will be utilized more, increasing property prices in these new areas where the new businesses will most likely establish themselves due to their cheaper prices, tax incentives and non-Korean mindset about location, location, location. |
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