特朗普政府欲重新拟定美韩自由贸易协议

 

American business leaders are urging South Korean leaders to increase market access to U.S. companies seeking to sell goods in South Korea.

The business leaders want to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump¹ not to introduce policies that harm trade between the countries.

During the U.S. presidential campaign, Trump threatened to make changes to the bilateral² free trade deal. The deal is known as the Korean U.S. Free Trade Agreement or KORUS FTA. Last year, Trump criticized the deal as “job killing³.”

The American Chamber⁴ of Commerce in Korea, or AMCHAM Korea, wants to keep the current KORUS FTA. The agreement took effect in 2012.

The deal removed 95 percent of tariffs⁵ on consumer and industrial products over five years.

James Kim is Chairman of AMCHAM Korea. He said South Korea should consider ending some regulations on imports that hurt trade.

“We need to make the Korean economy more transparent⁶ and predictable, by making the regulatory process more deliberative,” Kim said recently in Seoul.

The American car industry, for example, has said it spends a lot of time and money on unneeded environmental rules. It also says it faces regulations that often are introduced without notice or explanation.

Fifteen percent of cars in South Korea are from foreign manufacturers. In other developed economies, such as the U.S. and European countries, foreign cars make up 40 percent of the market.

The American Automotive Policy Council says nearly 80 percent of the trade deficit⁷ with Korea is in automobile⁸ trade. That deficit was almost $28 billion in 2015.

Jeffrey Jones is a former AMCHAM Korea chairman. He says Trump’s statements on trade add urgency to efforts to take care of misunderstandings about trade practices. But, he says time is running out.

Supporters say KORUS agreement is working

AMCHAM Korea is sending a group to Washington, D.C., to defend the current trade agreement. The group wants to speak with lawmakers about how the trade deal is working.

South Korean officials say most problems have been solved through negotiations⁹. They say the trade agreement also has helped the U.S. economy.

The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association says U.S. car imports to South Korea have increased by 20 percent in two years.

AMCHAM Chairman Kim says one way to build support for the U.S.-Korea trade agreement is to show how American exports to South Korea have increased. U.S. exports to South Korea of all products and services have risen by 8 percent in the last 10 years.

Exports of some agricultural products have increased sharply since the free trade agreement has gone into effect.

Kim notes that several Korean companies, including carmakers Hyundai and Kia, have opened factories or offices in the U.S. The Korean companies have created more than 45,000 American jobs.

Recent news reports suggest that Samsung Electronics is considering opening a new manufacturing center in the U.S.

Trump wrote on Twitter, “Thank you, Samsung! We would love to have you!”

Samsung did not confirm that it would build a new factory. It did say, however, that it was making an investment of $17 billion in a semiconductor¹⁰ factory in Austin, Texas.

The trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea is bilateral, meaning between two sides. It is unlike the huge 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership¹¹ deal from which the U.S. withdrew, or the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, which Trump has also criticized.

Korean companies with operations in Mexico, however, are concerned they could face increased tariffs if NAFTA is renegotiated. NAFTA covers trade among Mexico, Canada and the U.S.

Words in This Story

Consumer –adj. relating to goods and services bought by people

Regulations –n. rules or law about how something should be done

Predictable –adj. not unusual, happening in a way that can be foreseen

Deliberative –adj. doing something

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

5 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

6 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

7 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

8 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 semiconductor   

n.半导体

参考例句：

• In the beginning,engineers hoped to use semiconductor lasers.在开始时，工程师们希望能够利用半导体激光器。
• The main agent of the company brand semiconductor sales.本公司主要代理各品牌半导体销售。

11 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。