Panama is already a great market for U.S. manufacturers and exports, and the expansion of the Panama Canal, the huge subway project in Panama City, and the development of the world’s fifth largest copper mine represent even more opportunity, the CEO of Caterpillar testified Wednesday.

Taking advantage will require President Obama to submit the U.S.-Panama Free Trade Agreement to Congress for its enactment.

Doug Oberhelman, Caterpillar’s CEO and vice chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers, testified Wednesday at a House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee hearing on the benefits of the U.S.-Panama Free Trade Agreement. (Prepared statement)

Manufactured goods and agriculture consistently report trade surpluses, Oberhelman reminded the committee. (See graphic below.) The growth of U.S. exports has been especially strong in the Latin American countries with which the United States has free trade agreements. Lowering Panama’s tariffs against U.S. goods would help expand market share for American companies. Oberhelman:

U.S. export success in Panama comes despite a fundamental imbalance in the proverbial playing field. The United States unilaterally opened its market to Panama and its neighbors through the Caribbean Basin Initiative in 1983 and expanded that access through successive acts with the support of strong bipartisan majorities in Congress. Currently, under the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA), fully 96% of all imports from Panama already enter the U.S. market duty-free. By contrast, Panama’s average applied duty on imports of manufactured goods is 7.1%, and agricultural products face even higher tariffs. In other words, Panama enjoys virtually free access to our marketplace, while U.S. products continue to be taxed at steep rates when entering Panama. (continue reading…)

From the Senate Republicans, @Senate_GOP:

At 3:30 ET today, Leader McConnell, Sen. Orrin Hatch, and Sen. @robportman will hold a press conference on free trade agreements.

Sens. McConnell, Hatch, and @robportman will call for immediate action from the president on pending free trade agreements.

Washington Post editorial, “Time to act on free trade:U.S. agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama should be approved — soon“:

The potential for a trade policy train wreck is real. Everyone needs to focus less on the political tit for tat and more on the policy case for getting these deals done as soon as possible, which is clear and strong. “It is time to identify the specific steps Colombia and Panama must take to move forward,” Mr. Baucus said Wednesday, “so we can finally approve our free-trade agreements with these countries, increase U.S. exports and create jobs here at home.” From a Democrat, that can hardly be considered unfriendly advice, and Mr. Obama would be wise to take it.

House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, “Brady Announces First in a Series of Three Hearings on the Pending, Job-Creating Trade Agreements“:

Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX), Chairman, Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a series of hearings on the pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. According to the President’s own statements, these agreements have the ability to create over 250,000 American jobs. The first hearing will address the agreement with Colombia. The hearing will take place on Thursday, March 17, 2011, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 A.M. The Subcommittee will soon advise regarding hearings on the trade agreements with Panama and South Korea.

Testifying on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers will be William D. Marsh, vice president legal – Western Hemisphere — for  Baker Hughes. Also scheduled to testify is Ambassador Miriam Sapiro of the U.S. Trade Representatives Office.

The USTR on Tuesday also hosts the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea on its annual visit to Washington, D.C. Last week U.S. and Colombian officials met in Washington to discuss the pending FTA. (Also here.)

The Miami Herald reports on President Obama’s upcoming trip to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador, “President Obama’s Latin agenda takes shape.”

U.S. Trade Representative Kirk testified on the President’s 2011 Trade Agenda at the Senate Finance Committee this morning. As expected, the focus was squarely on lack of progress on the Colombia and Panama free trade agreements. Unfortunately, despite an advance request by the Chairman and Ranking Member for a specific timetable on concluding the two agreements, Ambassador Kirk did not provide much of a road map on how the U.S. will proceed in addressing what the Administration feels are outstanding issues in both agreements.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk

When he appeared in front of the House Ways and Means Committee last month, Kirk promised the Administration wants to move the Korea trade agreement (KORUS) as soon as possible, and it would intensify efforts to resolve outstanding issues in the Colombia and Panama agreements so they could be moved as quickly as possible to Congress for approval –- by the end of 2011 if possible. At the time, we argued that all three agreements need to move as quickly as possible. We still absolutely believe this is the way things should proceed. The agreements with Colombia, Korea and Panama have languished since 2007, while our competitors in Europe and Asia continue to move aggressively to open those markets and gain preferential access for their manufactured goods exports.

The Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee made it very clear they feel the same way. Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) was crystal clear: “The time is long past to ratify the Colombia agreement,” said, continuing, “None of these agreements will pass unless they are all packaged together this year.” Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) told Ambassador Kirk that he was tired of unfulfilled promises on Colombia and Panama. “It is the Administration’s inaction that speaks volumes – and these promises we’ve heard are inadequate,” the Senator said. Sen. Hatch pulled no punches in saying that he will view any attempt to move the KORUS FTA without action on Colombia and Panama in a very negative light. (continue reading…)

Top former Executive Branch trade officials recently sent a letter (available here) to President Obama and Congressional leadership calling on the President to submit the pending U.S. Free Trade Agreements with Colombia and Panama to Congress for enactment. The bipartisan signers were six former United States Trade Representatives; two former White House Envoys to the Americas; and 10 former Assistant Secretaries of State for the Western Hemisphere.

The letter with a strong appeal to geopolitical imperatives — standing by your allies. It has been more than five years since the U.S. negotiated its free trade trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia and nearly five years since negotiations with Panama. Delays cast into question America’s reliability as a partner.

For manufacturers and farmers and U.S. workers, there economic argument is especially compelling. First, for Colombia:

Colombia has been the largest purchaser of U.S. agricultural products in South America. In the five years prior to 2008, U.S. exports of wheat, corn, soybeans, soy oil were expanding 38 percent per year, accounting for nearly $4 billion a year in U.S. exports. In recent years, however, while the United States failed to move forward to ratify its trade agreement with Colombia, Colombia concluded trade negotiations with Canada, Chile, and the European Union, and implemented new trade agreements with the Mercosur bloc: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Each of these countries is a competitor with the United States for agricultural exports to Colombia.

As a result, between 2008 and 2009, total U.S. exports of agricultural products to Colombia dropped by 48%. That decline in U.S. exports continues with an additional drop of 45% in 2010. We have seen U.S. exports plummet while Colombia’s imports of those products have held steady and Argentina and Brazil’s sales to Colombia have climbed by over 20 percent. In dollar figures, U.S. exports of corn, wheat, and soybeans to Colombia dropped from $1.1bn in 2008 to $343mm in 2010, a decline of 68%. That nearly $700
million in lost exports costs U.S. jobs.

With Panama, the authors cite the possibility of increased manufactured goods exports from the United States. (continue reading…)

President Obama released his 2011 Trade Agenda on Tuesday. It seems a bit more forward in promising action on trade than in previous years, which is good. America has effectively been in a time-out on trade for the last four years, and our industrial competitors around the world have been using that to their distinct advantage. The European Union, Korea, Canada, Australia and other nations have been in a flurry of bilateral and regional trade agreement negotiations that will provide their exports with preferential treatment at the expense of our own.

The President’s 2011 agenda sets forth a number of highly laudable goals, including passage of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), continued support for the National Export Initiative (NEI) goal of doubling U.S. exports in five years, concluding a balanced and ambitious agreement to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round, finishing negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and bringing Russia into the WTO. He also promises engagement with Colombia and Panama to resolve outstanding issues so they can be sent to Congress for approval. President Obama also calls for strong enforcement of our trade laws, strong protection of our intellectual property, commits to continuing America’s core strengths in innovation and competitiveness.

The agenda is certainly one that manufacturers can endorse. Two-thirds of U.S. exports are manufactured goods.

It’s one thing to set goals, and another to deliver them. On the pending FTAs, the National Association of Manufacturers wants all three pending agreements submitted to Congress and acted upon as quickly as possible. Passing the three pending FTAs is the fastest way to aid our national goal of doubling exports. The Korean deal is huge for manufacturers. The strides Colombia has made over the last decade are nothing short of astounding, and the commitments it has already lived up to in addressing labor issues have been exemplary. Panama has met all demands made upon it. There is strong bipartisan support in Congress for all three agreements, and it is quite possible we could celebrate Flag Day by opening three new markets worth $13 billion annually in increased U.S. exports. By the Administration’s math, that’s more than 60,000 new jobs that could be created.

On the WTO Doha Round, the Administration has been correct in refusing to settle for the anemic texts on the table – they do not open high-value markets in advanced developing nations. The NAM is in close alignment with this position. Without significant concessions by Brazil, China, India and others, the Doha Round will result in virtually no new benefits for manufacturing in America. We continue to urge Ambassador Kirk and his team to drive this point home to the recalcitrant negotiators in those nations – if they can make commitments equal with their economic size, the entire world will reap the benefits.

The President’s annual Trade Policy Agenda, like the annual Budget, is a chance for the Administration to put forth its philosophical views on how it plans to engage in market liberalization and economic growth. There is much here that, if it can be delivered – and quickly – would create jobs and increase our domestic economic development. The key question is not what the Administration wants to do, it’s how fast the President is willing to do it.

The European Parliament approved the EU-Korea trade agreement today, with 465 votes in favor, 128 against and 19 abstentions. The agreement will take effect on July 1, 2011, immediately removing the vast majority of Korea’s tariffs on manufactured goods (which average 8 percent) imported from European Union countries. You can read all about it here: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=680

This approval is a notable development, because it is the first time that the European Parliament exercised co-decision powers on trade agreements. Prior to the Lisbon Treaty, approval of trade agreements rested entirely within the Council. Now, the European Parliament must approve all trade agreements signed by the EU – putting them much closer to the U.S. model, where Congress must approve our trade agreements. Many speculated that this agreement might face a closer vote for approval in the EU Parliament. Still, 76 percent voted to approve –- a percentage far higher than most agreements receive in the U.S. Congress. The European Parliament obviously knows what manufacturers in America know: Removing foreign trade barriers is a boon for exports, jobs and economic growth.

The majority of the U.S. Congress knows this too, and wants to approve the three pending trade agreements we have with Korea, Colombia and Panama. Of course, before our Congress can approve trade agreements, they need the President to send them up. Our pending agreements have been awaiting Congressional approval since 2007. The President has indicated he will quickly transmit the U.S.-Korea FTA to Congress with an eye toward seeking approval in a matter of weeks – but that leaves Colombia and Panama languishing.

Together, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) estimates the three agreements are worth more than $13 billion in new U.S. exports. The majority of those exports will be manufactured goods. Tens of thousands of American jobs will be created and sustained as a result of these trade agreements. They remove tariff and non-tariff barriers, open markets for our goods, give our manufactured products preferential treatment. The longer we hesitate, the more our competitors win our market share as they approve their own trade agreements. The time to move on trade is now.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk is testifying before the House Ways & Means Committee on the Obama Administration’s trade agenda this morning. I am sitting in the hearing, and there is good news and bad news.

Good news: We are extremely pleased to hear Ambassador Kirk indicate the timeline for Congressional consideration of the Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is “weeks.” (Ambassador Kirk’s opening statement.) The European Union’s FTA with Korea (to be approved next month) threatens U. S. manufacturing exports to Korea, and swift completion of our agreement is necessary to keep our competitive balance. 

Bad news: No real new thoughts on how to move our languishing agreements with Colombia and Panama.  Amb. Kirk did say the Administration will “immediately intensify our engagement to resolve the outstanding issues with Colombia and Panama so that Congress can consider them this year.”

We did that with Korea on autos, and it resulted in real improvements to that agreement. The National Association of Manufacturers supported the supplemental agreement.

But it took six months, and addressed a real problem of specific market access. With Colombia and Panama, the issues are not specific. In fact, we would argue they aren’t even real issues. We would argue that the enforceable labor provisions included in our agreements as a result of the May 10 2007 bipartisan agreement addressed these concerns.

Efforts have also been made by Colombia and Panama in recent years. Colombia was removed from the International Labor Organization’s watch list this year. In short, this Administration has had two years to provide an actionable list of concerns. As Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) has just noted, these agreements were signed in 2007, and it is now 2011.

Chairman Camp (R-MI) has just asked Ambassador Kirk to elucidate the outstanding issues in Colombia, noting the agreement was signed in 2007. “We need to address underlying concerns on labor rights” was the response.

“We need specifics and an action plan, we need benchmarks” responded the Chairman.

We couldn’t agree more. What I am fairly certain about is that our competitors in Europe, Canada, Korea and MERCOSUR have a pretty specific list of manufactured products they’ll be shipping to Colombia and Panama as they take advantage of THEIR trade agreements.

American workers benefit from our nation’s exports. Exports create jobs in American factories. Agreements with Colombia and Panama will lead to billions in increased U. S. exports. We need all 3 agreements. And we need them now. In fact, we needed them in 2007.

It was a busy and very positive day for a forward-looking trade policy in Congress, to be sure. Over in the House, Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) called a hearing of the full Ways and Means Committee to examine the importance of passing the pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Korea and Panama, and their impact on job creation and economic growth. The National Association of Manufacturers was represented by Roy Paulson, president of safety equipment manufacturer Paulson Manufacturing, based in Temecula, Calif. Paulson exports to more than 80 countries, including the three with pending FTAs, and he was plain, direct and straightforward in telling the Committee that his exports to those nations will increase once their tariffs are removed with passage of the FTAs. (Prepared testimony.)

The same theme was echoed by all the witnesses at the hearing – themes well familiar to anyone who’s spent time reading this blog. The United States, with very low tariff rates, is open to the world. Many of the fastest-growing markets for our exports have high barriers. Trade agreements remove those barriers, drive U.S. exports and create jobs and economic growth here in America. If we chose to sit on the sidelines, as we have for the past four years, our competitors in Europe, Latin America and Asia will seize these markets with trade agreements of their own. Instead of preferential access for our manufactured goods exports, we will be confirmed as the suppliers of  higher priced goods. Market share will dwindle. Instead of increasing production at home for consumption abroad, we’ll be cutting production and losing markets. That’s a recipe for job losses and economic contraction.

As Cong. Peter Roskam (R-IL) noted at the close of the hearing (relying on notes): “The time to say we’re thinking about these agreements is over. The time to act on them and reap the benefits has arrived.” It is, in fact, well overdue, as anyone who exports to Colombia, Korea or Panama knows. We could have had these barriers down in 2007, well ahead of the competing FTAs our competitors are now rushing to complete. The President and Congress need to move quickly on all three agreements in the first half of 2011. The votes are there, as Trade Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) noted at the start of the hearing.

Leaving the House, we move to a bipartisan effort on trade in the Senate, where Rob Portman (R-OH) — who was President Bush’s Trade Representative — and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) introduced a bill today that would move all three agreements AND provide President Obama with Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). (Lieberman and Portman issued a joint news release. (continue reading…)

Roy Paulson, President of Paulson Manufacturing Corporation, is testifying today on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers before the House Ways and Means Committee, “Hearing on the Pending Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea and the Creation of U.S. Jobs.” 

His prepared statement (available here) talks about the reality of trade and tariffs and how enactment of free trade agreements would expand opportunities for manufacturers and small business. Excerpt:

Take a moment and think of the opportunity these agreements will present to the small business community here in the United States. I have had success selling such varied items as patented eye care products on South Korean cable television to Electrical Safety equipment in Colombia. The security products sold to Panama are a continuing source of repeat business, and safety equipment with a 6 percent duty that will be eliminated will be a viable item as the canal is widened over many years. In addition to my own sales, I encourage other manufactures to sell their products in these countries and freely supply my contacts and experience gained from my years of effort.

In all three countries with pending Free Trade Agreements the reduction in tariffs will have a direct impact on sales of our products. I just spoke to my Korean contact, Bryan Kim, and he is extremely excited about the 8 percent tariff being removed immediately because now he is in a stronger competitive position and the market immediately becomes broader allowing sales into main stream applications. He also commented that the Korean consumer’s perception of US products is one of quality and that the Made in the USA label is very important. He went on further to say that the price is critical and import duties are generally paid by the importer along with the freight charges. Eliminating the eight percent tariff will have a direct and immediate benefit and increased sales.

Colombia is truly a special case in South America. The Free Trade Agreement has been sold to the people as tremendous improvement and everyone is waiting for this to occur. My customers have been paying 20 percent tariffs on hundreds of thousands of dollars of my imported products and this has reduced the range of items that they could purchase from me. In other words, from my broad product offering, only the items that they could not purchase from Europe, Brazil or China were being brought in from the USA. After the agreement we can all begin to enjoy a more competitive environment for my full product range.

Other prepared statements:

• Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation
• Michael L. Ducker, Chief Operating Officer and President, International, FedEx Express
• William J. Toppeta, President, International, MetLife
• Stephen E. Biegun, Corporate Officer and Vice President of International Governmental Affairs, Ford Motor Company
  

The House Ways & Means Committee has posted the witness list for its hearing 10 a.m., Tuesday, “On the Pending Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea and the Creation of U.S. Jobs. ” NAM Board Member Roy Paulson leads things off.

• Roy Paulson, President, Paulson Manufacturing Corporation, on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers
• Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation
• Michael L. Ducker, Chief Operating Officer and President, International, FedEx Express
• William J. Toppeta, President, International, MetLife
• Stephen E. Biegun, Corporate Officer and Vice President of International Governmental Affairs, Ford Motor Company

Paulson Manufacturing is based in Temecula, Calif. From its website:

Since 1947 we have been providing protective equipment for various industries worldwide. From industrial to fire and rescue, tactical and ballistic verification testing, we have the right products for you. Specializing in face protection, our family owned and operated business consistently delivers quality and innovation to each and every customer.

We’ll post all the testimony when it becomes available on Tuesday.

The hearing is perfectly timed. President Obama delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, and export-driven job growth is expected to be a theme. The president can lend substance to the rhetoric by announcing his intention to submit not just the Korea, but also the pending FTAs with Colombia and Panama to Congress for enactment.