Proposed FTAs Set to Increase Trade Deficit and Job Losses

Dustin Ensinger

2/26/2010

Despite claims to the contrary by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Obama administration, proposed free trade agreements with South Korea and Panama, if implemented, would add to the nation’s already exploding trade deficit and result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs, according to a new study by the Economic Policy Institute.

The trade pacts were negotiated under the Bush administration but have stalled in Congress over concerns about certain aspects of the deals. Recently, however, free trade proponents such as the Chamber of Commerce have been pushing Congress and the Obama administration, which seems receptive, to ratify the deals.

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