On Wednesday February 9, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk testified for the first time before the House Ways and Means Committee, offering some details on the Administration's trade agenda, including the pending free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. He said the president intends to submit the Korea-U.S. FTA to Congress "in the next few weeks" and hopes lawmakers will approve it "this spring." This appears to be consistent with supporters' goal of congressional passage by July 1, the date a similar pact between Korea and the European Union will take effect. The U.S.-Korea FTA Business Coalition, for which the Chamber serves as secretariat, is holding dozens of meetings with members of Congress, extending its nationwide program of grassroots events, and conducting a host of other activities to build the already broad support for the agreement.
Regarding the FTAs with Colombia and Panama, Kirk echoed recent comments by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the White House hopes to find a way forward this year. "I can tell you today that the President has directed me to immediately intensify engagement with Colombia and Panama with the objective of resolving the outstanding issues as soon as possible this year and bringing those agreements to Congress for consideration immediately thereafter," Kirk said. However, he also warned that those issues are "serious" and that "any timetable will be contingent on the successful resolution of these issues." He referenced labor rights and anti-labor union violence in Colombia and said that country must "come to the table prepared to take additional meaningful actions," but he gave no further indication of what those might be. Staff from USTR and the Department of Labor will visit Bogota next week to discuss these issues with Colombian officials. Separately, a delegation of leaders from the Latin America Trade Coalition, for which the Chamber serves as secretariat, will travel to Colombia and Panama next week to underscore the broad support of U.S. business and agriculture for the two accords.
• Testimony of U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk
• Camp Calls on Administration to Act on Pending Trade Agreements
• Camp Opening Statement: Hearing on President Obama's Trade Policy Agenda
• Brady Statement for the Record: Hearing on President Obama's Trade Policy Agenda
• Colombia Welcomes Ambassador Kirk's Remarks
• U.S. Chamber: Now Is The Time to Act on All Three Trade Agreements
• Colombia: Continuing Progress that is Making all Colombians Safer
