Economics
‘Horrible Deal’ or ‘Gold Standard’: The Korea-U.S. Trade Pact
Shipping containers sit stacked among gantry cranes at a container terminal in the Port of Busan in Busan, South Korea, on July 16, 2017.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
For President Donald Trump, the free trade agreement with South Korea is a "job killer" -- a "horrible deal" that’s costing the U.S. $40 billion a year.
The architects of the deal on both sides disagree with Trump’s characterization of the deal, which was heralded as a "gold standard" for FTAs when it came into force in 2012, and still has strong advocates in the American business community as well as in Korea.