As reported all over the media today, the U.S. Congress cleared free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, bringing an end to years of stalemate.
The Agreements, the biggest trade deals since 1994, promise to result in the export of billions of dollars of U.S. goods and boost hundreds of thousands of American jobs.
Whichever side of the political fence you sit, speaker of the House John Boehner issued a poignant statement about the passage of the trade agreements:
“With passage in the House and Senate today, a key component of the Republican jobs plan will be sent to the President for his signature. These significant trade pacts will provide new opportunities for American small businesses, farmers, and manufacturers to expand and hire more workers.
And frankly, it shouldn’t have taken this long for it to happen. While a Democrat-controlled House sat idle, other nations expanded their trading ties, and American competitiveness suffered. These common-sense agreements reverse that trend, level the playing field, and provide American job creators access to new customers and markets to sell their products.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also praised the deals and urged policymakers to pursue a more aggressive trade agenda. The Chamber’s CEO, Tom Donohue, said in a statement:
Passing these trade agreements represents a victory for American workers, American competitiveness, and American leadership. It means we will immediately stop losing jobs to our competitors who have cut their own deals and we can start creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs for Americans.”
It’s great to see at least one area where centrist Democrats and Republicans can agree to take action that could benefit the American economy in the long run.
These long-overdue trade deals will improve the American economy and signal to these three trading partners that the United States is open for business.
What do you think?