{"id":94,"date":"2011-07-18T08:36:54","date_gmt":"2011-07-18T15:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citizenstrade.org\/ctc\/oregon\/?p=94"},"modified":"2011-12-23T08:40:12","modified_gmt":"2011-12-23T16:40:12","slug":"over-4500-area-jobs-at-risk-under-proposed-korean-trade-pact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.citizenstrade.org\/ctc\/oregon\/2011\/07\/18\/over-4500-area-jobs-at-risk-under-proposed-korean-trade-pact\/","title":{"rendered":"Over 4,500 Area Jobs at Risk Under Proposed Korean Trade Pact"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Immediate Release<\/strong>
\nJuly 18, 2011<\/p>\n

BUSINESS & POLITICS:<\/strong>
\nOver 4,500 Area Jobs at Risk Under Proposed Korean Trade Pact<\/strong>
\nAnalysis of Government Data Finds Jobs in Electronics and Manufacturing Are Among the Most Threatened in Oregon\u2019s Fifth Congressional District<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

SALEM, Ore. \u2014 Over 4,500 people in Oregon\u2019s 5th<\/sup> Congressional District work in industries that a U.S. government study identifies as at risk of being offshored should a proposed trade pact with South Korea be enacted.\u00a0 Congress could vote on the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as early as this week.\u00a0 According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, the proposed Korean trade agreement would increase the U.S. global trade deficit, negatively affecting employment in industries prevalent in the greater Salem area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the state\u2019s unemployment rate already one of the highest in the nation, Oregon simply cannot afford another job-killing trade agreement,\u201d said Elizabeth Swager, assistant director of the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s hard to believe that members of Oregon\u2019s Congressional delegation would even consider supporting a trade deal that\u2019s expected to increase the deficit and cost the state jobs, let alone one that\u2019s being billed as the largest free trade agreement since NAFTA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) took effect in 1994, the U.S. Labor Department has certified 51,176 individual Oregon jobs as lost to either direct offshoring or displacement by imports.\u00a0 This figure is almost certainly low, given that service-sector jobs shipped overseas were not typically counted in the data set until mid-way through 2009.\u00a0 In terms of volume of trade, the Korea FTA is the largest pact of its type since NAFTA.<\/p>\n

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), the independent federal agency tasked with estimating the likely economic effects of trade agreements, predicts that implementation of the Korea FTA would lead to an increase in the overall U.S. trade deficit.\u00a0 The USITC also indicates that jobs are likely to be lost in high-wage industries such as electronics and manufacturing, with deficits for these sectors totaling up to $1.8 billion.\u00a0 The average hourly earnings of workers in the electronics industry, which is projected to lose a significant number of jobs, were $30.38 in 2008.\u00a0 This was 40.5 percent greater than the average hourly earnings of all workers employed in the private sector.<\/p>\n

There are 4,515 people in Oregon\u2019s 5th<\/sup> Congressional District employed in sectors of the economy that the USITC has identified as most at risk under the Korea FTA.\u00a0 This includes 1,555 in metal products manufacturing and 1,519 in electronics equipment.\u00a0 Statewide, there are 36,999 Oregonians employed in sectors of the economy identified as most at risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like there isn\u2019t a track-record for our elected officials to go by.\u00a0 My high-tech job was offshored to China last year, and I still haven\u2019t been able to find similar employment,\u201d said Mitch Besser, a displaced software engineer from Lake Oswego.\u00a0 \u201cPast trade deals have destroyed too many families\u2019 livelihoods already.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got to stop this broken model now, before our children\u2019s livelihoods are also destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oregonians called on Congressman Kurt Schrader to oppose the Korea Free Trade Agreement during a picket and press event outside his downtown Salem office on Monday.\u00a0 The Congressman has repeatedly said he is leaning in favor of the Korea proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinding a family-wage job is already hard enough without people like Congressman Schrader making it even harder.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how he can support a NAFTA-style trade deal that even the federal government says will increase the deficit,\u201d said Daniel Bonham, a Woodburn resident. \u201cThis isn\u2019t the time for elected officials to be cutting sweetheart deals for Wall Street that come at the expense of their constituents.\u00a0 Congressman Schrader should speak out firmly against the Korea FTA before it\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

The Oregon Fair Trade Campaign (ORFTC) is a statewide coalition of labor, environmental and human rights organizations working together to improve trade policy.<\/p>\n

For a PDF of ORFTC\u2019s reporter memo titled \u201cStudies on Potential Economic Effects of Korea Trade Pact Show Rising U.S. Deficits and Job Losses,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> please email elizabeth@oregonfairtrade.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Immediate Release July 18, 2011 BUSINESS & POLITICS: Over 4,500 Area Jobs at Risk Under Proposed Korean Trade Pact Analysis of Government Data Finds Jobs in Electronics and Manufacturing Are Among the Most Threatened in Oregon\u2019s Fifth Congressional District … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nOver 4,500 Area Jobs at Risk Under Proposed Korean Trade Pact - Oregon Fair Trade Campaign<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.citizenstrade.org\/ctc\/oregon\/2011\/07\/18\/over-4500-area-jobs-at-risk-under-proposed-korean-trade-pact\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Over 4,500 Area Jobs at Risk Under Proposed Korean Trade Pact - 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