From Reuters:
U.S. President Barack Obama told congressional critics of a free trade deal with South Korea he would consider asking Seoul for changes to labor, investment and financial provisions of the pact to help win approval of the deal in Congress, a lawmaker said on Thursday.
"He wanted us to give him a list of what our other concerns were," Representative Michael Michaud, a Maine Democrat, told Reuters after he and eight other lawmakers met with Obama.
Obama said he "is willing to go over that list and see which ones they agree with, and the ones that they do (agree with) they'll try (to pursue) when they continue the negotiations with the Koreans," the Maine Democrat said.
But Michaud, who is chairman of the House of Representatives Trade Working Group, said also Obama made clear finalizing the trade deal was a priority and "he definitely does not want to start from scratch" to get that done.
Obama's conversation with Michaud and his colleagues reflects the political problems he faces in embracing the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which the two countries signed three years ago when George W. Bush was president.
For many Democrats, the pact is based on a "bad template" that Bush used to negotiate a raft of trade deals during his eight years in office, Michaud said.
U.S. and South Korean negotiators plan to resume talks soon on the trade deal in Washington, following their failure to resolve beef and auto trade issues during Obama's recent trip to Seoul for the Group of 20 summit.
Michaud said his group told Obama "we're willing to work with him on Korea and other trade deals, but we have very serious concerns beyond autos and beef ... We have issues with labor, investment and financial chapters ."
An extended list of U.S. demands could complicate chances of quick agreement on the deal, and Michaud acknowledged they had to be "realistic" about what more Obama could get.
And from Roll Call:
Members of the House Trade Working Group emerged from a private meeting with President Barack Obama on Thursday feeling heartened about the prospects for revamping U.S. trade policy.
“We went to the White House to begin a genuine dialogue because there are trade agreements that many of us could support,” said Rep. Mike Michaud, chairman of the group. “We wanted this conversation to be one that gets away from the same old talking points, and I think we’re off to a good start.”
The Maine Democrat was one of nine lawmakers invited to the White House meeting, which was not listed on Obama’s daily schedule. He outlined for the president changes that he and others in the group want in a pending free-trade agreement with South Korea: clearer labor standards, more targeted tariff reduction for small and medium manufactures, and more focus on trade deficit reduction.
Above all, Michaud said, U.S. trade policy is simply due for an overhaul.
“While I remain concerned about this agreement, I believe there is a viable, alternative way forward on trade,” he said. “U.S. trade policy has not changed in the last 16 years, but it has changed our districts, and not for the better. That’s why making some improvements to the agreement and future ones to limit offshoring of jobs and promote U.S. manufacturing would be a good step forward.”
Here's an excerpt from the Michaud press release about the meeting:
“I appreciated the discussion we had with the President. As millworker for nearly 30 years in Maine, this is an issue that hits close to home and which effects I’ve seen firsthand.
“During our meeting, we told the President that we believe the agreement as it exists now has several fundamental problems that go beyond the issues with beef and autos. Because of these fundamental problems, the agreement will not help to fix the U.S. economy, which voters just signaled is their number one priority.
“We also delivered to the President the same message we all hear back home: the American people do not support more of the same. They want Congress and this Administration to work together to fix our flawed policies.
“And while I remain concerned about this agreement, I believe there is a viable, alternative way forward on trade. U.S. trade policy has not changed in the last sixteen years, but it has changed our districts, and not for the better. That’s why making some improvements to the agreement and future ones to limit off-shoring of jobs and promote U.S. manufacturing would be a good step forward. And making these changes would do nothing to derail the U.S. trade agenda as some have tried to claim.
“We went to the White House to begin a genuine dialogue because there are trade agreements that many of us could support. We wanted this conversation to be one that gets away from the same old talking points and I think we’re off to a good start.”
And here's a letter he and others sent to President Obama and Korean President Lee last month, outlining their concerns.
