We, the undersigned U.S. civil
society organizations, express our deep concerns over the proposed
U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). We believe that the
current model agreement, which so far has provided enormous benefits for
a disproportionate few, will not likely generate widely shared economic
prosperity for the majority of persons in the U.S. and South Korea.
Indeed, some of the provisions under negotiation could jeopardize
important public interest gains or narrow the policy space of
governments to respond to the needs or wants of their citizens. We
wholly embrace economic and cultural relations with South Korea, but
wish to make certain that the terms of that relationship are equitable
to all. In evaluating any trade agreement, we will be guided by the
following principles.
Democracy,
Transparency, and Accountability: Trade agreements must be
negotiated under democratic mechanisms with broad-based citizen
participation including workers, women, and indigenous and ethnic
groups. The draft text, member country proposals, and negotiating
agendas should be made available to civil society at regular and timely
intervals in order for civil society participation to be meaningful.
Negotiators should also meet with civil-society groups before each
negotiating session, in order to discuss the proposals being advanced,
and afterwards in order to report back on the results of those talks.
Trade agreements must be subject to regularly scheduled environmental
and social reviews by an independent body, which include an evaluation
of the agreement’s impact on workers, women, people of color and
indigenous communities. Any dispute arising under the agreement must be
resolved in an accountable and transparent manner, with due deference to
domestic laws and court systems. Trade disputes must be open to the
public, and accept submissions from interested outside parties.
Workers’ Rights:
Any trade agreement with Korea must ensure that all workers can
freely exercise their basic rights as laid out by the 1998 ILO
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work: freedom of
association, the right to organize and bargain collectively, to refuse
forced labor, to reject child labor, and to work free from
discrimination. These rights must be recognized and protected in trade
agreements and covered by dispute resolution and effective enforcement
mechanisms. Any trade agreement with the region must also ensure that
immigrant workers’ rights are protected fully regardless of their
status. Technical assistance to improve labor standards in Korea can
complement, but not substitute for, enforceable rules on workers’
rights. Finally, a trade agreement with Korea must include adequate
protections and transitional assistance for rural and urban workers and
farmers in Korea and the United States who are adversely affected by
increased trade.
Protecting Family
Farms: No free trade agreement should prevent countries from
establishing their own domestic agricultural policies that promote food
sovereignty, appropriate for their particular economic conditions,
geographic characteristics and cultural practices and beliefs. Trade
agreements must not interfere with the ability of countries to prohibit
dumping of agricultural products that undermine the well being of family
farmers and rural communities. Farmer’s livelihoods will be left at the
whim of large agribusiness interests unless exporting countries of major
commodities take the lead in establishing price floors to assure fair
commodity prices worldwide and establish strategic international
reserves to ensure food security. These mechanisms are necessary to
prevent the pricing and export of commodities by agribusiness
corporations at below a farmer’s cost of production. Countries must be
allowed the flexibility to establish tariffs and appropriate types of
subsidies to prevent a total collapse of rural economies and mass
migration.
Environmental
Protection and Natural Resources: Trade agreements must not
undermine any environmental standards but strengthen and enforce them.
Trade rules must ensure that private investors cannot challenge domestic
environmental and other public interest laws and regulations before
international tribunals. Agreements should also reinforce governments’
responsibility to protect and promote farmer rights regarding plant
genetic resources for food and agriculture as stated in the Treaty on
Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, including not limiting
any rights that farmers have to save, use, exchange or sell seeds and
other propagating material as afforded to them by national laws.
Protecting Basic
Services: Services that help meet people’s right to food, education,
health and basic utilities should be exempt from trade rules. In Korea
there is deep concern that applying trade rules to these services,
especially public services, would make it harder for governments to
adequately support and regulate these services, resulting in price
increases that are prohibitive to consumers, reduced access and
compromised quality.
Foreign Investment
and National Development: Investment rules must allow governments
the leeway to implement legitimate economic development strategies for
domestically oriented growth, especially to promote decent employment,
to support domestic industries and investment, and to encourage the
emergence of new and infant industries. Investors must have binding
responsibilities – including compliance with international and national
labor and environmental standards – not just rights. Governments must
have the authority to regulate capital flows in order to prevent and
redress financial crises. Finally, investor-to-state lawsuits must not
be part of trade agreements.
Intellectual
Property Rights: A trade agreement with Korea should not include
rules that go beyond the existing intellectual property rights agreement
of the WTO that may adversely impact women, farmers’ rights, food
security, traditional knowledge and the protection of public health.
Trade agreement’s rules should comply with the Doha declaration on
access to medicines and with the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Intellectual property rules must not limit countries’ ability to
prohibit patents on genetic plant resources for food and agriculture.
Procurement: Procurement rules must not
prevent governments from using tax dollars to support responsible
purchasing and contracting practices that favor local suppliers or
contain other non-commercial criteria. National and sub-national
governments must retain the ability to use government procurement
policies to promote local employment, assist small and medium-sized
businesses, safeguard workers’ rights and human rights, and achieve
other legitimate social and environmental goals.
Therefore, we the undersigned U.S. civil society
organizations, declare our opposition to any trade agreement, including
the Korea-U.S. FTA, should it fail to protect workers’ rights, human
rights, food security, and environmental standards, and undermine the
ability of governments to regulate corporations to protect the common
good. We stand in solidarity with the Korean people, and are resolved
to press our government to reverse its course on trade. We call on our
government to reject the failed NAFTA-style free trade model, and
strengthen economic and trade relations with other countries based on
the principles of mutual benefit, respect for democratic rights, and
national sovereignty.
