Hoyer Optimistic House Will Act on Pending Free Trade Agreements

President Obama has indicated that he and his administration would be working toward the goal of submitting a pending free trade agreement with South Korea to Congress before the end of the year. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) says he hopes Congress also would be able to consider similar pending FTAs with Colombia and Panama at the same time or even before the U.S.-Korea FTA.

President Obama has indicated that he and his administration would be working toward the goal of submitting a pending free trade agreement with South Korea to Congress before the end of the year. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) says he hopes Congress also would be able to consider similar pending FTAs with Colombia and Panama at the same time or even before the U.S.-Korea FTA.

Hoyer said he appreciated the actions the Obama administration was taking to move the stalled Korea FTA forward so that the pending agreement could be considered by Congress sometime late this year or early next year. President Obama announced June 26 that he had instructed U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to resolve issues related to the U.S.-Korea FTA by a November meeting of the Group of 20 and he would present the Korea FTA to Congress "in the few months" afterward if there was resolution of the differences.

None of the three pending FTAs — all of which were negotiated by the Bush administration — have been sent to Congress for a vote due to substantial opposition from a wide range of Democratic members of Congress. The administration will have its work cut out for it to meet the objections of House Ways and Means Chairman Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) and Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus. Both chairmen have called for the FTA with South Korea to be renegotiated, Levin because he objects to provisions regarding trade in automobiles and automobile parts, and Baucus because he finds provisions regarding Korea 's plans to import U.S. beef to be insufficient.

The White House has not formally requested a renegotiation of the South Korea FTA.

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