Trade deals require all parties to make concessions, and the negotiations between the United States and South Korea are a case in point. In the spring of 2008, President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea decided to lift a ban on U.S. beef; in return, the United States agreed to exclude South Korea’s rice industry from the trade agreement.

1. When a trade deal is passed, there are winners and losers. Who stands to win if the U.S. – Korea ratified? Who stands to lose?

2. In the United States, the United Auto Workers supported the Korea trade deal, but the machinists union did not. How do you explain this split in the U.S. labor movement?

3. Why is the global automobile industry often at the center of disagreements over trade relations?

4. As this book went to press, the U.S. Congress had not ratified the FTA with Korea. What is the update? Has the deal been ratified or not? Which of the requirements identified in the final paragraph of the case study affected the outcome?