Nebraska Senator Wants to Know What We're Waiting For on Pending FTAs
Johanns says it is time for the President to back up talk with action.
Compiled by staff
Published: Jul 15, 2010
In an op-ed piece published in Monday's Wall Street Journal, former Secretary of Agriculture and current Senator Mike Johanns, R-Neb., called on President Obama to take immediate action on pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.
"These could be submitted today to Congress for a vote," Johanns said. "But the President continues to sit on these trade agreements while we lose these markets."
Citing Canada's recently-approved free trade agreement with Colombia, Johanns says the rest of the world isn't waiting around on free trade.
"Countries don't sit still for us," Johanns said. "They start negotiating with other countries and reach trade agreements and the risk we run is that we'll lose really good markets here, important markets to U.S. agriculture."
Johanns says he's encouraged by recent reports that President Obama is showing a renewed commitment to the FTAs. But Johanns says it's time to back up those words with action.
"He's trying to promote trade; he talked about it in his State of the Union address," Johanns said. "But at the same time I don't see a lot of action to get the agreements done or to get Trade Promotion Authority."
Johanns says the President is trying to have it both ways: talking up free trade and trying to appease the nation's labor unions at the same time.
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Tagged: labor, free trade agreement
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