As Public Citizen’s Lori Wallach explained yesterday, the three trade agreements passed Congress in a whirlwind of activity last night, because a present for the President of South Korea’s visit to Washington today is more important than a considered debate about the role of neoliberal trade agreements and what they have traditionally done to US exports. In addition, the House did pass Trade Adjustment Assistance, with every Democrat supporting and about half of Republicans. This had already passed the Senate, so the entire package goes to the President for his signature, and he is pleased about this:

Speaking of Congress, they may be getting themselves in a position to actually pass those three long-stalled trade agreements The Senate passed a bill providing assistance for workers displaced by trade agreements, but its prospects in the House are uncertain.

The South Korea deal could cost 159,000 jobs in the first eight years, and the Colombia deal 60,000 jobs.

The Administration should take the opportunity to dissolve the Department and move its parts into other federal bureaus, and blame Republicans for forcing his hand to boot.

Virtually every time that Republicans or the Obama Administration talk about working together, they specifically cite the South Korea free trade agreement as a point of covergence. The agreement, modified by Obama’s negotiators last year but substantially similar to the corporate-written agreement originally negotiated under George W. Bush, looks like it’s on a glide path to passage, given that unanimity. In fact, the only person standing in the way is noted grassroots labor organizer Max Baucus.

Bill Richardson, the utility diplomat on the Democratic bench, has secured a deal with North Korea to allow nuclear inspectors back in their Yongbon nuclear facility. They also agreed to allow fuel rods to ship to an outside country, probably South Korea, for enrichment. And, the US will receive some remains from Korean War-era soldiers.

Let’s move out of the tax-cut frying pan and into the South Korea free trade agreement fire. The Wall Street Journal says that KORUS, which is the nickname the White House has been using for the deal, is picking up support. But the first piece of their article concerns how Max Baucus, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, is very frustrated by it.

I was on the PBS News Hour with Jim Kessler of Third Way last night, during which Kessler said the NAFTA-like South Korean free trade agreement was a great deal for the U.S. Of course he thinks KORUS is good for the US. What’s he going to say, the banks that fund his organization are tickled pink the US government won’t be able to pass “too big to fail” laws, or ban risky financial products and services?

Yesterday, Ben Smith broke the story that the AFL-CIO had drafted a statement opposing Obama’s NAFTA-Style Korea Free Trade Deal, and it has been sitting on Richard Trumka’s desk since last Thursday (the day before the White House announced the deal). A member of congress, however, is spreading the rumor that the AFL-CIO might sit [...]

As President Obama well knew when he was on the campaign trail, NAFTA has been devastating to our workforce. Over 5.6 additional American jobs could have been supported had NAFTA and the WTO not led to increased trade deficits. With 15.1 million people currently unemployed in the United States, it is insane to extend the same NAFTA privileges to Korea that have already ransacked America’s manufacturing sector and our labor force.