Alabama-South Korean Trade Endangered

WASHINGTON (AP) – An American business lobbying group says President Donald Trump is considering triggering a withdrawal from a free trade agreement with South Korea. That’s raising concerns about a move that could cause a fresh economic rift between allies at a moment of heightened tensions with a common foe, North Korea. Trump acknowledges that he’s discussing the future of the agreement with advisers but isn’t saying much more than that. The U.S Chamber of Commerce tells its members that the White House has alerted lawmakers that a notification of intent to withdraw could come as soon as Tuesday. The chamber is calling on its members to lobby the administration to stay in the deal. The administration has been in talks to make adjustments to the trade agreement with South Korea.
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9/2/2017 9:23:29 PM (GMT -5:00)

Alabama exports millions of dollars in goods to, and imports millions worth of good from, South Korea…primarily because the only Hyundai plant in the U.S. is in Montgomery.

The Director of the International Trade Division of the Alabama Department of Commerce, Hilda Lockhart, says Alabama would certainly feel a negative impact if the trade deal is scuttled. She tells Alabama News Network: “the free trade act is really important for Hyundai”…and disbanding it completely “would damage Hyundai competitiveness in the U.S.”

There is a trade imbalance between Alabama and South Korea. While $500-Million in Alabama goods go to South Korea each year, almost $2-Billion in South Korea good are shopped here, much of it involving the Hyundai plant in Montgomery.