Asians uneasy over Obama trade stance

BEIJING – Indian outsourcing companies, Cambodian textile workers and Korean automakers took a close look Wednesday at Barack Obama's trade stance, wondering what Democratic victories in the White House and Congress would spell for free trade.

Obama has said he is in favor of free trade agreements if they benefit the United States. He has criticized the one with South Korea, saying it does not adequately address an imbalance in auto trade. South Korean automakers sold 772,482 vehicles in the United States in 2007, while the U.S. sold 6,235 in South Korea, according to industry statistics.

"He appears to be a protectionist," said Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union of Workers in Cambodia, which has an export-driven textile industry. "I am quite concerned about that because most of our clothing products are exported to America."

In an Oct. 24 letter to the U.S. National Council of Textile Organizations, Obama pledged "strong enforcement" of trade remedy laws, which can include added tariffs on imports that are deemed to hurt American businesses. Obama said he would include labor and environmental standards in free trade agreements — a measure that many in Asia view as a possible pretext to shield U.S. companies from foreign competition.

Obama also has said he would pressure China to end what he calls the manipulation of its exchange-rate system. Washington and other trading partners say Beijing's currency, the yuan, is kept undervalued, giving its exporters an unfair price advantage and adding to China's multibillion-dollar trade surplus.

Indian outsourcing companies — accused by critics of stealing U.S. jobs — have also expressed some apprehensions about an Obama victory.

The potential for a protectionist backlash is "something we have to factor in," S. Ramadorai, chief executive of Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest software services provider, said shortly before the election.

Other analysts said that despite Obama's pre-election comments, he was likely to follow the example of previous U.S. presidents and take a moderate line in office to preserve important trade relations with Asia.

"He may have talked tough, but based on past experience, that's just a tool to win over voters," said Qiang Yongchang, a professor at the Economy Institute at Shanghai's Fudan University.

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AP Business Writers Tomoko Hosaka and Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo, Elaine Kurtenbach in Shanghai, Jeremiah Marquez in Hong Kong and Kelly Olsen in Seoul, Associated Press Writer Ker Munthit in Phnom Penh and AP researcher Bonnie Cao in Beijing contributed to this report.