Farm Groups Unite to Push Congress On Free-Trade Agreements

Representatives of major commodity and farm groups are forming a united front to lobby Congress to approve the three pending free trade agreements that have languished for years after having been signed by the Bush administration. The three are FTAs previously negotiated with Colombia , Panama and South Korea .

"The three [free trade agreements] combined, which are stalled in Congress, represent almost $2.5 billion in additional exports," said American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman.

Colombia is a particularly important foreign market for U.S. wheat, according to the U.S. Wheat Associates. But that relationship is endangered if Congress does not ratify the U.S.-Colombia FTA that both countries signed in November 2006.

Corn industry representatives say that the lack of an FTA between Colombia and the United States is allowing Argentina , Brazil and Paraguay to move in and displace U.S. corn exports. The U.S. sold $500 million worth of corn to Colombia in the 2007-08 marketing year, but that dropped almost 50 percent in the 2008-09 marketing year.

Meanwhile, U.S. beef producers point to the lost market in South Korea that could be turned around if Congress ratifies the US-South Korea FTA. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association says the FTA could sharply boost exports by eventually removing $325 million worth of tariffs.