Deal on free trade agreements

Farm and Ranch August 5, 2011 With all the work and focus on getting a debt limit deal done Congress left many things undone before heading out on the August break. American Farm Bureau’s Executive Director of Public Policy Mark Maslyn points to one.

Maslyn: “The most notable one are the Colombia, Panama and Korean free trade agreements. Action has been postponed on them until Congress comes back from its August recess. These agreements have been languishing for years. These agreements mean jobs. They mean growth in the U.S. economy. That‘s why Congress needs to move quickly to get these free trade agreements done.”

That just may finally be possible given an agreement reached this week between Senate leaders to renew funding for trade-related unemployment benefits. In a joint statement Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said they had found a “path forward” for the Senate to take up the three free trade agreements along with the job-training program when Congress returns from its month long recess.

President Obama said this week that the trade pacts would be a priority for his job-creation agenda once Congress returns.

In a recent letter to the President and Congress urging action on the free trade agreements a coalition of agricultural organizations noted that the U.S. share of Colombia’s corn, wheat and soybean market has fallen to 28 percent from 78 percent since 2008 due to other trade pacts Colombia has made. Later this month an FTA with Canada takes effect.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Aginfo Net.

?