The House Ways & Means Committee marked up legislation for the pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea this morning. This is the opening act of the closing chapter, so to speak, and we hope it will not be too long before President Obama is signing the agreements into law. Next up – the House will vote on the 3 agreements next Wednesday and send them to the Senate. Senator Reid has promised rapid action over on his side of the Capitol once he receives the bills.

Had anyone forecasted, in late January, that we’d have these long-languishing job-creating agreements completed – potentially by Halloween – the remark would have been met with derisive laughter. Colombia was signed in November 2006; Panama and Korea in June 2007. They have faced strong opposition, fueled by outrageous claims that they will hurt American jobs and the economy.

Nothing is further from the truth. In fact, lack of action on these agreements over the last 5 years is what has caused harm to our economic recovery and manufacturing jobs. Multiple studies produced by U.S. Government agencies, including the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and the Commerce Department show these agreements will create as much as $13 billion in new exports, and tens of thousands of new jobs. Given manufactured goods are the majority of U.S. exports to Colombia, Panama and South Korea, these trade agreements are really manufacturing agreements. (continue reading…)

Today’s vote by the U.S. Senate to pass the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) is a major step forward in finally moving the stalled free trade agreements with Colombia, Korea and Panama. Those agreements — and new opportunities for growth of American manufacturing exports — have languished since 2006.

Meanwhile, our competitors in Europe, Canada, Japan, and other manufacturing powerhouses have continued to negotiate, sign and implement bilateral trade agreements that gain them preferential access to growing markets around the globe. Their manufacturing exports supplant and replace ours in market after market.

For a lasting economic recovery and job creation, increasing our manufacturing exports will be a key factor. The single easiest way to increase our exports is to lower tariff and non-tariff barriers in other countries. Trade agreements promote jobs and exports. President Obama has touted the job-creating nature of trade agreements repeatedly in recent weeks. He has asked Congress to pass the pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.

Now that the Senate has passed TAA, it is imperative that President Obama send the trade agreements to the House for approval. There is bipartisan support for all three in the House and Senate, and leadership has vowed to move quickly on passage. All we need is for the agreements to be transmitted. They should be sent immediately.

Doug Goudie is director of international trade policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

Senate Majority Leader Reid filed cloture this morning on the motion to proceed on H.R. 2832, the House-passed Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) bill.  He has scheduled a cloture vote for 5:30 on Monday on the motion, which will begin the process of attaching Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) to the GSP bill.

We applaud Senator Reid’s move today – he has set in motion a process that, essentially, will end with Congress considering and approving the three long-pending Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Korea and Panama.

If all goes according to schedule, after several days of debate and a number of amendments, the Senate will pass the GSP/TAA bill and send it to the House. At that point, we expect that the Obama Administration will transmit the 3 pending FTAs to the House, which will – we hope – move to schedule votes on both TAA and the trade agreements.

The trade agreements will arrive in Congress under Trade Promotion Authority, which fast-tracks their movement and protects them against amendment. We would hope that by the first week of October, the House will have votes scheduled on  all four bills, and will then send the trade agreements to the Senate. We would further encourage Leaders Reid and McConnell to deploy all urgency and immediately schedule the trade agreements for a vote on the Senate floor.

Both TAA and the trade agreements have bipartisan and bicameral support. In this economic environment, it is crucial that these job-creating trade agreements be implemented as quickly as possible. The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) estimates the three FTAs will increase U.S. exports to Colombia, Korea and Panama by $13 billion annually, creating nearly 100,000 new jobs. Manufactured goods exports make up nearly two-thirds of total U.S. exports – so anything that boosts overseas sales will also boost our domestic production, output and employment.

In recent weeks President Obama, Speaker Boehner and Members of the House and Senate on both sides of the aisle have spoken urgently about the need to create jobs in America. Finally, with the imminent consideration of the long-stalled trade agenda, we’ll have some good news for America’s manufacturers and their workers. Pass the Colombia, Korea and Panama trade agreements, open those markets to American exports, and reap the benefits.

Doug Goudie is director of international trade policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

The “mock-markups” of the three pending free trade agreements by the Senate Finance and House Ways & Means Committees today was an important step in the process of passing the agreements. The three agreements will move under Trade Promotion Authority, which protects them from amendment and provides a fast-track process for a quick vote.

The next step, which needs to come as quickly as possible, is for the Obama administration to formally transmit implementing legislation to Congress. This could happen as quickly as next week – and it should. These agreements need to be passed before Congress leaves for August recess.

Already our competitors in Europe and Asia have been signing trade agreements at a startlingly rapid pace, gaining for their manufacturers preferential treatment in key growing markets around the world. U.S. manufacturers are falling behind. We will face higher tariffs and barriers in some of our most promising export markets if we don’t embark on a similar robust trade agenda. (continue reading…)

The U.S. and Mexican governments have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on a new cross-border trucking program that will bring the United States into compliance with our NAFTA commitments. This is good news – if long overdue – for manufacturers in America.

For over 30 months, U.S. manufacturers have faced billions in retaliatory tariffs on hundreds of products they ship into Mexico as a result of our ban on Mexican trucks. Now with this MOU, those tariffs will be cut in half – and will be suspended completely once the first truck is certified under the new program.

The NAM strongly believes that all countries need to uphold their international obligations, and that includes commitments made by the United States.  We need to press other countries hard to live up to their agreements, but we cannot expect them to comply if we don’t. Resolution of the trucking dispute and removal of retaliatory tariffs is a very positive development.

Doug Goudie is director of international trade policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

About seven hours ago, manufactured goods exports from the European Union began to receive duty-free treatment upon entry to South Korea, one of the largest and fastest-growing industrial economies in Asia. Korean goods will also receive duty free entry to the EU about 2 hours from now, as midnight arrives in London and Paris and Berlin.

This means that products made in America — which support American jobs and families and cities – will now compete at a disadvantage of 8-12 percent with similar or identical products from Europe.

The EU has many more FTAs than the United States, and it has been far more robust and energetic in recent years in pursuing new FTAs around the world. The EU is nearly complete with FTAs with Colombia and Panama as well.

In recent months, we’ve seen substantial progress on moving our three pending FTAs forward for Congressional approval. It is time to accelerate that process. Chairman Camp and Chairman Baucus both cited the EU-Korea deadline of July 1 as a key point for passage of our FTAs with Colombia, Korea and Panama. We urge Congress to come to agreement on any outstanding issues, and pass those agreements before July 1 becomes August 1.

Doug Goudie is director of international trade policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

The road to pass the three pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea has at times been reminiscent of the seemingly endless drive to a favorite vacation destination – with the back seat repeatedly asking “are we there yet?” The answer, finally, is “almost.”

On the U.S.-Colombia trade agreement, the Obama Administration reached an action plan with the Santos Administration which contained two key tranches of action items, each with a deadline. Today, the U.S. Trade Representative announced that Colombia has met the requirements of the June 15^th tranche of actions (a few days early, no less). This is an important milestone, and one that should be followed by immediate submission of the three pending agreements for Congressional approval.

President Santos and the Colombian people are to be commended for the swift and far-reaching actions they’ve taken in recent weeks. In meeting the commitments to the action plan, they have made first and foremost a commitment to their country to continue healing the divisions of the past and to strengthening the future.

Now that Panama’s tax treaty is passed, the first two Colombia action plan deadlines are met, and the automotive provisions in the Korea agreement have all been resolved, it’s time for votes on the agreements. And the deadline set by Chairman Camp in January of this year – July 1^st – is still reachable. It will take swift action by both the Administration and Congress – but given that these three agreements will open markets worth an estimated $13 billion annually in new U.S. exports, speeding on this road is not only forgivable, it’s required.

Manufacturing in America stands to benefit from increased exports, and the three pending agreements are the fastest and easiest way to prime the pump of economic expansion. One in five U.S. manufacturing workers has a job dependent on exports. Increase our manufactured goods exports, and you’ll increase American jobs.

The slow climb out of the recession is by no means complete. And the answer to the back seat on the recovery is “not yet.” But by quickly passing these three trade agreements – and then moving to an ambitious Doha Round agreement, a strong Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and launching new bilateral negotiations with key trading partners – the answer will be “we’re getting closer.”

Doug Goudie is director of international trade policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

Tomorrow and Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee will be holding hearings on two of the three pending Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Up tomorrow is the hearing on the Panama agreement, followed by the hearing on the Korea agreement Thursday. The Colombia FTA had a hearing two weeks ago.

Jason Speer, Vice President of Quality Float Works, will be testifying on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers at tomorrow’s hearing on Panama. His company is a fantastic example of how trade and exports don’t just benefit large multinational companies – but small American manufacturers as well.

Here is a small excerprt of Jason’s testimony:

Quality Float Works, Inc. is the premier manufacturer of hollow float metal balls and float valves in the nation. Our floats are used to level liquid controls in a wide variety of industries including gas, plumbing, oil and agricultural applications. Many products you see and use every day, from gas pumps to air conditioners, could not be operated without float balls. We currently have 23 employees between our primary facility in the suburbs of Chicago, Ill., and a branch office in Dubai, UAE.

Quality Float Works, Inc. is a family-owned small business that has experienced record growth in recent years due to overseas exports. In 2001, exported goods accounted for only 3 percent of our total sales. Since that time, we have seen foreign sales rise steadily as a result of proactive engagement with progressive markets. Last year, international trade accounted for one-third of our total sales. The passage of additional free trade agreements (FTAs) would further expand the opportunity for my business to enter untapped markets that could benefit from our products.

One-third of their sales depend on exports. The Colombia, Panama and Korea trade agreements will lower tariffs on Quality Float Work’s products, allowing them to increase their market share and exports even more.  

NAM Vice Chairman Doug Oberhelman, the CEO of Caterpillar, Inc., testified a few months ago before the House Ways and Means Committee on the Panama FTA, and noted how key that agreement is for Cat and its exports and  American-based jobs. Tomorrow, a company located not all that far from Cat will testify that the Panama agreement will be beneficial as well, for the same reasons and in the same ways. The only difference is the size of the company.

The FTAs represent growth for American manufacturing, American jobs, and the American economy. It’s high time to pass all three as soon as possible.

Doug Goudie is director of international trade policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

The Obama Administration continues to move forward on increasing its commitment to an ambitious trade agenda by announcing its support for the last of the three pending free trade agreements (FTAs) - the agreement with Colombia, which has long been the most contentious. This morning U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Kirk sent a letter to Congress indicating that USTR “has completed its preparatory work on the Agreement and stands ready to begin technical discussions with Members of Congress on the draft implementing bill and draft Statement of Administrative Action.” That means, let’s get to work on Colombia. This is a another positive step forward for the U.S. trade agenda. For years, our mantra has been “we want all three as quickly as possible.” We appreciate the work of USTR and the Administration to get to this point and look forward to working with them on moving forward.

Now, we’ve got all three on the line. It’s time to move them through Congress as soon as possible.‪ In January, Ways and Means Chairman Camp told USTR Kirk at a hearing that he wanted to pass all three pending trade agreements by July 1. At the time, that seemed an impossible dream, we were certainly skeptical.

The NAM has been working for years to build support for these three pending FTAs – and we will double our efforts. Manufacturers know these preferential trade agreements – which open foreign markets to our exports — are key to economic growth and job creation in America. These agreements will mean $9 billion annually in increased manufacturing exports to these three trading partners, according to the USITC.‪

The Colombian government under President Santos should be congratulated for their efforts in addressing the issues raised in the action plan announced a few weeks ago – but also for their independent efforts on domestic reforms that go far beyond anything ever discussed with the United States. Their work builds on the foundation laid by former President Alvaro Uribe, who presided over the negotiation of the agreement and who, over his two terms, did so much to strengthen and preserve Colombia.‪

There is a great deal of work to be done if we are to pass all three agreements by July 1. That date was not plucked out of thin air – it is the day that the EU-Korea and Canada-Colombia trade agreements enter into force, and our competitors’ manufactured goods and agriculture products gain a preferential advantage over ours. Our competitors are moving forward, and are far ahead of us in many markets. With today’s notification of the Colombia FTA we’re finally moving in the race. All we need is a good finishing kick to get over the line.‪‪

Doug Goudie is director of international trade policy at the National Association of Manufacturers.

We have some sense of optimism on the state of the U.S. trade agenda today. On Friday The New York Times ran an editorial urging the Administration to move quickly on all three pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Korea and Panama.

The Colombian government is facing the first of several deadlines as laid out in the “action plan” they reached with the Obama Administration recently – and I’m betting they’ll deliver completely and flawlessly. And when they do, we would argue that there should be no delay in beginning the approval process of that agreement in Congress. The Korea FTA is ready to go as well, and it can join the Colombian agreement in receiving quick Congressional consideration (they can share a cab to the Hill, perhaps).

But leave room in that cab for the Panama agreement. Today USTR Kirk sent a letter to Congress indicating that USTR “has completed its preparatory work on the Agreement and stands ready to begin technical discussions with Members of Congress on the draft implementing bill and draft Statement of Administrative Action.” That means, let’s get to work on Panama. USTR Kirk has already sent such a letter on Korea. Following the April 22 action plan efforts by Colombia, could we see such a letter on the Colombia FTA as well? Within a few days, all three free trade agreements could be able to begin the journey to Congress for approval. We think “should” rather than “could.”

And it should be swift and bipartisan approval – there is strong support for all three agreements in Congress. President Obama has spoken in support of Korea and Colombia, and we expect he might have something similar to say about Panama now that the Tax Information and Exchange Agreement (TIEA)  has been ratified. The longer we wait, the longer barriers to our manufactured goods exports remain in place, even as some of our competitors race to implement their own agreements that will give them preferential treatment. The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that $13 billion annually in new exports will be the result of the three agreements. $9 billion or so of that will be in manufactured goods exports. That means jobs in factories all around the country.

As Ways and Means Chairman David Camp says in a news release today, “The more we delay, the more we lose. The time to act is now.” Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady adds “We are on the home stretch, and I welcome the opportunity to show the world that we once again have a market-opening trade agenda that creates U.S. jobs.” The NYT editorial noted “[t]hese agreements are good for the American economy and good for national security. Congress should waste no more time and approve them.”

We couldn’t agree more. Congratulations to the Martinelli Administration in Panama for quickly moving the TIEA through its ratification process. They’ve delivered what they were asked to do. We fully believe the Santos Administration in Colombia will just as quickly deliver what they’ve been asked to do in the recent action plan before April 22. With these actions, they should join Korea and move to Congress, where they will have a warm reception. Chairman Camp has repeatedly called for passage of all three FTAs by July 1, a proposal we strongly endorse. Put all three FTAs in a cab and drive them straight to Capitol Hill. Because when it comes to removing foreign barriers to U.S. manufactured goods — the meter’s running.