The pending South Korean-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) could very well be the most catastrophic treaty to date. This pact must not be allowed to pass.

Just like NAFTA, KORUS promises to outsource even more American manufacturing to a country with inferior labor, safety and environmental laws. The minimum wage in South Korea is still under $4 per hour (€2.80) – our companies will have no choice but to sell out overseas or go out of business when their competitors do the same.

The population in the United States is over 300 million people, while in South Korea, it is just under 50 million. How can we possibly hope to gain a trade surplus with such a lopsided difference in size? While President Obama has promised the deal would create 70,000 low-paying, insourced jobs, the Economic Policy Institute estimates that in the first seven years, KORUS could destroy nearly 160,000 American jobs. This is not a favorable exchange for the United States.

Our automobile and textile manufacturing have already been seriously damaged by “free trade,” and KORUS will certainly continue to ravage these struggling industries. In addition, more uninspected foods such as beef and seafood will be imported, and we will have no power to stop it. These low-priced, low-quality foods are both unneeded and potentially unsafe for our health.

“Free trade” is the major cause of our economic downfall, and these disastrous agreements must come to an end. NAFTA has already proven to be a massive failure which we need eliminate. To even consider entering into further such treaties is absolutely preposterous. America needs to get back to working for itself before the real cost of “free trade” is our independence, our sovereignty and our freedom.

Click here to watch The Lessons Not Learned from NAFTA Part 1.

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