US Congress backs free trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama

Obama wins bipartisan support for agreements he says will boost US exports but some fear will send jobs overseas The US Congress has approved free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, ending a four-year drought in the forming of new trade partnerships and giving the White House and Capitol Hill the opportunity to show they can work together to stimulate the economy and put people back to work. In rapid succession, the House of Representatives and Senate voted on the three trade pacts, which the administration says could boost exports by $13bn (£8.25bn) and support tens of thousands of American jobs. None of the votes were close, despite opposition from labour groups and other critics of free trade agreements who say they result in job losses and ignore labour rights problems in the partner countries. President Barack Obama said passage of the agreements was “a major win for American workers and businesses”. “Tonight’s vote, with bipartisan support, will significantly boost exports that bear the proud label Made in America, support tens of thousands of good-paying American jobs and protect labour rights, the environment and intellectual property … I look forward to signing these agreements,” Obama said. The agreements would lower or eliminate tariffs that American exporters face in the three countries. They also take steps to better protect intellectual property and improve access for American investors in those countries. The last free trade agreement completed was with Peru in 2007. The House also passed and sent to Obama for his signature a bill to extend aid to workers displaced by foreign competition. Obama had demanded that the worker aid bill be part of the trade package. Years in the making, the votes come just a day after Senate Republicans were unified in rejecting Obama’s $447bn jobs creation initiative. The agreement with South Korea, the world’s 13th largest economy, was the biggest such deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada in 1994. The votes were 278-151 for South Korea, 300-129 for Panama and 262-167 for Colombia. The Senate votes were 83-15 for Korea, 77-22 for Panama and 66-33 for Colombia. “We don’t do much around here that’s bipartisan these days,” said Republican senator Rob Portman, who was US trade representative during the George W Bush administration. “This is an example of where we can come together as Republicans and Democrats realising that with 14 million Americans out of work, we need to do things to move our economy forward.” Despite the strong majorities, the debate was not without rancour. Republicans criticised Obama for taking several years to send the agreements, all signed in the President George W Bush administration, to Congress for final approval. Many among Obama’s core supporters, including organised labour and Democrats from areas hit hard by foreign competition, were unhappy that the White House was espousing the benefits of free trade. Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, said the “job-killing” agreements were a “complete flip-flop for President Obama, who won crucial swing states by pledging to overhaul our flawed trade policies”. In Cartagena, the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, said: “Today is a historic day for relations between Colombia and the United States.” He added that the agreement with his country would “generate much wellbeing for our peoples”. But Tarsicio Mora, president of Colombia’s CUT labour federation, said Colombia’s economy was not ready to compete with the US. “Our country isn’t developed. It does not have the expertise much less the requirements for trade at this level,” Mora said. “The country should be clear as to who is responsible for the coming massacre, because industry, large and small businesses are going to be hit because we are not in a condition to compete.” The Panamanian president, Ricardo Martinelli, said the trade agreement would help to attract foreign investment and increase commerce with the US, contributing to the creation of new jobs. “We, Panamanians, have to prepare to take advantage of this agreement,” Martinelli said. Panama’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture called it “a historic moment for Panama”. “A treaty with the largest trading partner in the world has been ratified and this will open the doors to a very important market,” said chamber president Federico Humbert. “We hope this agreement will bring great opportunities for Panama, while encouraging competitiveness and attract more foreign investment to our country,” Humbert added. The US House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, said that before taking up free trade agreements the House should be considering legislation passed by the Senate on Tuesday that would punish China for keeping its currency undervalued, a practice that makes its exports cheaper and contributes to China’s huge trade surplus with the United States. House Republican leaders oppose the currency bill and a Democratic attempt to attach it to the Colombia agreement was rejected. Democratic opposition was particularly strong against the agreement with Colombia, where labour leaders long have faced the threat of violence. “I find it deeply disturbing that the United States Congress is even considering a free trade agreement with a country that holds the world record for assassinations of trade unionists,” said representative Maxine Waters. To address Democratic objections to the deals, the White House demanded that the trade bills be linked to an extension of a Kennedy-era programme that helps workers displaced by foreign competition with retraining and financial aid. The Senate went along; the House passed it on Wednesday, 307-122. But with the focus in both the White House and Congress on jobs, the trade agreements enjoyed wide bipartisan support. The administration says the three deals will boost US exports and that just the agreement with South Korea, America’s seventh largest trading partner, will support 70,000 American jobs. US economy Economics South Korea Panama Americas Colombia United States guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 13, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.