Related articles ~ U.S. Free Trade Agreements ~ Obama's Trade Legacy in a Crucible this Fall (Congress resumes September 7th for vote) ...October 03, 2011
Obama and Republicans cooperate to move trade pacts
Years of political deadlock over U.S. free trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama appeared close to an end Monday as President Barack Obama formally submitted the pacts to Congress for approval.
"The series of trade agreements I am submitting to Congress today will make it easier for American companies to sell their products in South Korea, Colombia, and Panama and provide a major boost to our exports," Obama said in a statement.
The three deals were all negotiated during the Republican administration of President George W. Bush, but he was unable to win approval for them from a wary Democratic-controlled Congress before leaving office in January 2009.
"We've worked hard to strengthen these agreements to get the best possible deal for American workers and businesses, and I call on Congress to pass them without delay," Obama said.
House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Republican, said he expected the House to pass the agreements next week and key senators also said they would press for quick action.
Obama has touted the trade deals as a vital part of his effort to revitalize the stagnant U.S. recovery and generate new jobs, considered crucial to his 2012 re-election chances.
Some Republicans put potential job gains in the hundreds of thousands, while detractors predict they will cause job losses through increased imports and more factories moving abroad.
The pacts are expected to boost U.S. exports by about $13 billion annually, which the administration estimates would help create tens of thousands of jobs at a time when U.S. unemployment remains stubbornly high.
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Business groups hailed Obama's long-awaited move, which comes after rival agreements between the European Union and South Korea and Colombia and Canada have gone into force.
"America is finally getting back in the game," U.S. Chamber President Thomas Donohue said. "The Chamber will pull out all of the stops to get the votes in Congress, where the agreements already enjoy bipartisan support."
The Colombia agreement, the oldest of the deals, was signed nearly five years ago and the others were signed in mid-2007. Republicans have pressed for votes on the pact since winning control of the House last year.
BREAKING THE LOGJAM
The final hurdle to Obama submitting the agreements fell when House Republicans took action in the Rules Committee to set the stage for a vote on the Trade Adjustment Assistance program to help workers who have lost their jobs because of trade, which the White House said was a needed complement.
"While the delay was unacceptably long and likely cost jobs, I am pleased the Obama administration has finally done its part and sent these important trade pacts to Congress," House Speaker John Boehner said.
"Now that all three agreements have been transmitted, they will be a top priority for the House. We will quickly begin the required process to consider these bills and intend to vote on them consecutively and in tandem with Senate-passed TAA legislation," Boehner added.
TAA is a nearly 50-year-old program that was greatly expanded in 2009 to cover more workers with improved benefits. That expansion expired early this year and Republicans bent on cutting government spending balked at renewing it.
After the administration threatened not to submit the trade pacts unless TAA was renewed, the White House worked with House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, a Michigan Republican, and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, to craft a compromise.
The Senate approve that slimmed-down TAA expansion last month on a bipartisan vote, but the White House still waited for a stronger expression of intent from House Republicans to vote on the TAA package before sending the trade pacts.
Monday's action should help smooth the way for South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's October 13 visit to the White House. The South Korea pact is the largest of its kind since the North American Free Trade Agreement, which went into force in 1994.
"It is a decisive step toward strengthening the economic ties, as well as the alliance, between our two countries," said South Korea's Ambassador to the United States Han Duk-soo.
FIXING THE PACTS
After criticizing free trade deals during the 2008 presidential campaign, Obama slowly came to embrace the three pacts. Over the past year and a half, he has worked to address Democratic Party concerns about them.
The White House renegotiated auto provisions of the South Korea pact to win over Ford Motor Co and other critics who complained the original deal favored South Korea too much.
It also negotiated a tax information and exchange treaty with Panama to address concerns about investors using the country's bank secrecy laws to avoid paying U.S. taxes.
However, the biggest challenge may be winning approval of the Colombia pact. It is strongly opposed by U.S. labor groups, who complain that Colombia has not done enough to stop killings of labor leaders and prosecute those responsible.
The Obama administration this year negotiated a labor "action plan" with Colombia to address the violence concerns and strengthen the country's labor laws.
Obama's decision to submit the agreement "confirms, once more, the progress made by Colombia in protecting labor rights and in our fight against violence and impunity, Colombia's Ambassador to the United States Gabriel Silva said.
Still, a key Democrat, Representative Sander Levin, warned they could not support the agreement even though he was prepared to support the other two.
"Given the lack of full implementation of the action plan to date, and the glaring lack of a provision explicitly linking implementation of the FTA to Colombia addressing anti-union violence, impunity and fundamentally deficient labor laws under the action plan, the legislation is fundamentally flawed and I oppose it," Levin said.
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More Links ~ U.S. Trade Deal Could Generate Millions of Jobs ...:)
Bit of Good News ~ US Congress Leaders Agree on Path to Trade Deals! and .. related articles ~ *** US, South Korea reach highly coveted trade deal ~"landmark trade deal" that would support at least 70,000 U.S. jobs ... and.. U.S. and South Korea ~ S. Korea trade pact clears US hurdles ... and Obama Says U.S.-Panama Trade Pact Will Benefit Both Nations (one of three trade deals to be submitted to Congress) and ..United States and South Korea Free Trade Agreement Moves Forward (Columbia and Panama also moving forward)
