The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
March 15, 2012

U.S.-South Korea "Free Trade" Deal Goes into Effect 
----------------------------------------------------



A so-called "free trade deal" between the United States and South Korea
goes into effect today following its ratification last year. The deal is
the largest trade agreement the United States has signed since the North
American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico in 1994. It has
been opposed by numerous labor unions and watchdog groups in the United
States. According to Public Citizen, the deal is projected to cost
160,000 American jobs. South Korean farmers and some workers also oppose
it, saying it threatens their livelihoods. As the deal came into effect,
hundreds of people held a protest in the South Korean capital of Seoul.

Han Seon-Bum: "We're want to abolish the U.S.-Korea FTA, which will go
into effect tonight. It's a deal inflicting a loss on our country. Also
the deal is unfair since it's under American law and above our domestic
law."



.