Obama, South Korean president pledge to keep and protect U.S. jobs

Both pledged to create and protect American jobs.

 

But only one flaunted a Tigers cap, to the delight of a red-clad UAW crowd. That was South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

 

"He's a pretty good politician," said the other president, Barack Obama. "As a White Sox fan, I can't wear that."

 

The presidents visited the Orion Township factory, whose Chevy Sonic was developed in Korea, to tout their countries' new free-trade agreement. The deal, proponents say, will level the playing field for vehicles from both the U.S. and Korea.

 

Obama made his second visit to Michigan in less than two months.

 

"I notice the mood is a little brighter on this particular visit. I'd like to think it's because everybody is excited about the Korea Free Trade Agreement, but I suspect it might just have a little bit to do with your Lions beating up on my Bears," said Obama, who is from Illinois.

 

Obama tells autoworkers exports will create U.S. jobs

Exports create jobs.

 

That was the message from Presidents Barack Obama of the U.S. and Lee Myung-bak of South Korea, as the two toured General Motors' Orion Township factory Friday to celebrate the passage of new free-trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.

 

Obama said the agreement with South Korea will support 70,000 American jobs. Michigan, which ranked seventh in state exports in 2010, should receive many of the benefits, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

 

"The more goods and services we sell abroad, the more jobs we can create at home," Obama told a couple hundred workers and local officials assembled at the plant, which had a scheduled day off. Obama said he hopes to see more goods bearing "three proud words: Made in America. ... Koreans should be able to buy some Fords and Chryslers and Chevys that are made right here," he added, with a nod to the success of Korean automakers in the U.S.

 

The trade pacts, which passed Wednesday with predominantly Republican support, took more than four years to pass Congress. Last-minute input from Ford and the UAW helped to create the final Korean version, which phases out Korean automotive tariffs before requiring the U.S. to reciprocate with duty reductions on imported Korean cars.

 

The two presidents visited a GM plant with heavy ties to South Korea: The factory's Chevrolet Sonic subcompact, the smallest car built in the U.S., was developed in GM's Korean operations, and a version is built in that country. On a tour of the plant, a worker told the South Korean leader that more than a quarter of the Sonic's parts are from Lee's home country.

 

"I'm giving you some business," Obama joked, patting Lee on the shoulder, according to White House pool reports.

 

Lee, a former manufacturing executive, later told the audience he realized some Americans may think a free-trade agreement will result in jobs "exported" overseas. Opponents to such agreements say Americans may turn to more imported goods, thus costing U.S. jobs.

 

"Rather, it will create more jobs for you and your family," Lee said through an interpreter. "It is going to protect your jobs. And this is the pledge that I give you today."

 

Detroit played a key role in the South Korean free-trade pact. As Obama sought to secure passage throughout the past year, Ford and the UAW jumped into the fray, advocating changes to the proposed deal. Ford even took out newspaper ads and launched a Web site to help its cause.

 

The administration listened, Ford and the UAW say. The end result is an agreement that requires South Korea immediately to cut in half its tariff on imported U.S. vehicles, taking it to 4%, and phase it out completely over five years. The U.S. is allowed to keep its 2.5% tariff on cars imported from Korea for five years, and its 25% duty on imported light trucks remains in place for eight years, when the U.S. will start to decrease that tax.

 

The UAW supports the Korean pact, but other unions have warned that any job increases from exports could be offset by layoffs in the U.S. because of increased competition from South Korean imports. That country's automakers have already gained momentum in the U.S.: Hyundai sold 20.2% more vehicles in the U.S. this year through September than a year earlier. Kia's sales surged 37.1% in the same period.

 

Michigan already exported an annual average of $626 million in goods to South Korea between 2008 and 2010. That market could grow with the elimination of average tariffs of 54% on agricultural goods and 6.2% on non-agricultural products, the U.S. Trade Representative's office said.

 

Overall, the agreement is expected to add about $10 billion in annual exports to South Korea, the office said.

 

Obama was also visiting Michigan to boost support for his 2012 re-election bid.