House Democrats Call On USTR to Stop Hiding Real Export Numbers

Press Release

Four Democratic members of the House of Representatives--Rosa DeLauro, George Miller, Louise Slaughter and Paul Tonko--today called on the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to be upfront about the true cost of the Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), signed two years ago. The Korea FTA is a template for the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and both are based on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has shipped jobs overseas and weakened the middle class.

A newly released Public Citizen report shows U.S. exports to Korea have actually dropped five percent since the Korea FTA went into effect.

"This is just another example of how Congress, and the American public, is not getting the truth, as the TPP is being negotiated behind closed doors," the representatives said. "Nearly 200 members of Congress have already voiced their opposition to fast tracking TPP through Congress. Relying on false data to make the case for continuing our failed trade policy is only another example of why we should not move forward with this deeply flawed pact."

Rather than using the more accurate U.S. International Trade Commission data, USTR distorts the data by counting foreign-made products that are simply shipped through the United States en route to Korea as "U.S. exports" to Korea. For example, a product made in Canada, off-loaded and re-loaded in Long Beach, and then shipped to Korea would be considered an American export. Rather than use the official U.S. government trade data that counts only U.S.-made exports, USTR cites data that treat the 14 percent rise in foreign-made exports to Korea under the FTA as a boost to U.S. exports, artificially diminishing the dramatic U.S. export downfall.

Source