Push Comes to Shove on Free-Trade Agreements
The heat is on for the Obama administration to pass three pending free-trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.
The deal with South Korea is just about complete after more negotiations late last year ironed out differences about U.S. automobile exports.
Congress is expected to approve the U.S.-Korean Free Trade Agreement by July 1, the same date a free-trade agreement between the European Union and South Korea is expected to go into effect.
But now, Congress is threatening to hold up a number of appointments in the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative’s office unless the Obama administration sends all three free-trade agreements for approval.
A letter was sent by 44 Republican senators to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–Nev.) threatening to hold up the nomination for a new secretary of commerce to replace Gary Locke, who recently was named the U.S. ambassador to China.
The March 10 letter stipulates that the senators “will use all the tools at our disposal to force action, including withholding support for any nominee for commerce secretary and any traderelated nominees.”
The senators believe passage of all three free-trade agreements will boost job growth in the United States because there will be more demand for U.S. goods overseas.
Days later, Republican congressmen told the Obama administration that all three free-trade agreements would be approved by the House with bipartisan support if they were sent for consideration.
“By the president’s own measure, these agreements will create up to 250,000 jobs for American workers and don’t require a dime of federal spending,” said a statement released by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R–Mich.). “The White House’s refusal to act on all three makes no sense, and our colleagues in the Senate are absolutely right. The time for action on the pending free-trade agreements is now. The longer we wait, the more market share U.S. companies lose to foreign competitors and the fewer jobs we create at home.”
While the South Korean pact seems to be well on its way, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk has said that further negotiations are needed with Panama and Colombia to resolve concerns about labor and finance issues. —Deborah Belgum
