The Washington Post reports this morning that Korea has decided to withdraw from its commitment to allow the import of U.S. beef:
The Post fails to note another significant development since Korea made its concession. It has become clear that Congress has no intention of revisiting the Colombia Free Trade Agreement (which was killed by the House Democratic leadership days before Korea cut a deal), or any other Free Trade Agreement. The Korean government might have weathered the protests and anger engendered by the decision to lift the ban on imported beef, if it seemed likely that the trade deal with the U.S. would be adopted. Instead, it’s become apparent that Congress intends to stiff Korea as well as Colombia, and the Korean government has decided its not worth the trouble. Democrats have talked a good game when it comes to ensuring that our foreign policy seeks a multilateral approach to problems. But on trade, missile defense, energy policy, and a range of other issues, Congress has seemed eager to alienate important allies. The next President will have a lot of ground to make up. And with Congress having thrown out of the nation’s most valuable ‘soft’ tools — trade — the task will be that much harder.
