U.S. Chamber, Korean envoy pitch FTAs - Farm Week

August 24, 2010
By Martin Ross

Agreements would preserve U.S. jobs

In recessionary times, trade is a hard sell. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce nonetheless made a statewide pitch this week for pending free trade agreements (FTAs) and their impact on 380,000 U.S. jobs.

Chamber’s Trade Roots program Director Liz Reilly stumped for congressional approval of South Korea, Colombia, and Panama FTAs in a sweep of businesses and leaders in Peoria, Naperville, Schaumburg, Elk Grove, and Aurora.
 
The Elk Grove “Trade Means Job” session included Illinois Farm Bureau and U.S. Commerce Department representatives and Wheaton Republican Rep. Peter Roskam, a leader of Congress’ Korea Working Group. As President Obama prepares for a November meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak in Seoul, the bipartisan working group is working to drum up free trade support on the Hill.
 
Korean Ambassador Han Duk-soo conferred with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley during one stop. Meeting with skeptical U.S. automakers in Michigan, Han deemed the Korea FTA “one of the best opportunities to create U.S. jobs by providing new export opportunities for American manufacturers, farmers, and small and medium-sized companies.”
 
Obama has asked federal officials and policymakers to “smooth out” auto, beef, and other FTA issues prior to Seoul, “so he can have an agreement he feels comfortable with,” Reilly told FarmWeek. But she stressed current FTAs focus on reducing or eliminating existing tariffs on U.S. imports, rather than easing U.S. duties on incoming products.
 
“We think the agreement is really good as is,” Reilly maintained. “There are still some small discussions about beef and about auto, but I am confident it will be worked out by the time he goes to Seoul. Our stance on all these agreements -- not just Korea, but also Colombia and Panama -- is that this is a win-win. These are no-brainer agreements.
 
“They’re an absolute no-cost stimulus for the economy and a job creator, as well. We released a study in May that concluded that with these agreements not moving anywhere, we’re losing the equivalent of 380,000 jobs. That’s a matter of goods that aren’t being exported because of these tariffs, business deals that aren’t being made because of tariffs.”
 
Source: Farm Week