Larry Rother, writing for the New York Times, examines Obama’s protest of the South Korean trade agreement:
“Two facts are not in dispute,” Mr. Goolsbee continued. “Japan and Korea retain rules that prevent imports of U.S. beef, rules that other countries don’t have, and in countries that don’t have those rules, U.S. beef exports have returned to higher levels than before. So you’ve got to be highly suspicious at the outset.”
Obama is often described as a populist and not in a fuzzy good way. His speeches, which often seem to preach the ridiculous protectionism we’ve come to expect from democrats, might be misleading. When pressed for details, Obama often seems to push less for the erection of barriers and high tariffs, but instead for the equalization of trade rules and the opening of foreign markets to American goods.
His disapproval of the South Korean trade agreement strikes as a perfect example. Instead of protesting the import of foreign goods, Obama is protesting the inability of American manufacturers to export theirs. Rhetorically, the sentiment is the same, “Foreigners are costing you jobs!”, the rally cry of the anti-globalist movement, but the reasoning is technically pro free-trade.
Interesting.