Hurt, Perriello share concern of local jobs on trade issue

Local jobs are the big issue when it comes to supporting a free trade agreement between the United States and South Korea, 5th District candidates said Tuesday.

The U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, which was signed in 2007, is still pending before Congress. According to the White House, President Barack Obama aims to present the FTA to Congress after his November visit to South Korea — if discussions can resolve outstanding issues for U.S. workers and producers.

Obama met with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak in late June and called the FTA “the right thing to do for Korea,” adding that it would “strengthen commercial ties and create enormous potential economic benefits and create jobs here in the United States.”

Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th District, however, announced in a news release Tuesday his opposition to a “NAFTA-style” Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement “because of their devastating effects on manufacturing and industry in central and southern Virginia,” his press secretary, Jessica Barba, said in the release.

Perriello’s opponent, GOP candidate Robert Hurt, believes in free trade but supports re-evaluating trade agreements to protect Southside jobs, according to his campaign manager, Sean Harrison. Harrison said that for Hurt, “it must be fair trade, as well.”

Independent Jeff Clark could not be reached for comment.

According to the White House, the U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that the reduction of Korean tariffs and quotas on goods would add $10-$12 billion annually to America’s gross domestic product and increase annual merchandise exports to Korea by $10 billion. And for agriculture products, the agreement would eliminate tariffs and quotas “on a broad range of products.”

Perriello joined the more than 100 members of the Democratic House Trade Working Group to send a letter July 22 to Obama requesting a meeting to discuss the issue because of what they believe would be the FTA’s effect on small businesses and the automotive, beef and textile industries. In a statement, Perriello said Southside lost nearly 6,000 jobs to China from 2001-08 under the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization.

“We need better trade that benefits American workers,” Perriello said in a statement, “not deals that will send our jobs offshore … I have consistently stood up to both parties on this issue and affirm that we cannot have any new NAFTA-style agreements and must put American workers first again.”

Harrison refrained from saying whether Hurt would support the U.S.-Korea FTA, but said that for Hurt, the deciding factor is creating jobs locally.

“Too many Virginia jobs have been shipped overseas in recent years,” Harrison said in an e-mail, “and we need to re-evaluate trade agreements like NAFTA to make sure American businesses and workers are on a level playing field with everyone else.

“His decision on such legislation would be based on one question: ‘Does it help create jobs in central and Southside Virginia?’”

Amos is a staff writer for the Danville Register & Bee.