Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo told business leaders in Boise that the political makeup of the U.S. House will need to change before Congress approves new free trade agreements with South Korea, Panama, and Colombia.
“I think that there will need to be a significant change to the politics in the House,” Crapo said during a meeting of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce. “(House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi, to this date, has absolutely refused to allow the trade agreements to come forward.” Crapo said he thinks the Senate has enough votes to pass the trade agreements.
The U.S. already has bilateral free trade agreements with 17 countries, including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico. Business groups back such efforts because they reduce taxes and tariffs on imports and exports.
“We are in a holding pattern in terms of our trade negotiations,” Crapo said. “We’ve got to get past that.” Crapo said reasons for the delay in Congress approving the new trade pacts include concerns over environmental and labor practices in other countries, as well as differing government subsidies to industries like agriculture. “Labor in general is not in favor of trade agreements.”
A report from the labor organization AFL-CIO calls the trade agreement with South Korea “the most economically problematic trade agreement negotiated since NAFTA,” and said it could have a negative impact on jobs and wages in the U.S.
Liz J. Reilly with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that South Korea, which is the U.S.’s seventh biggest trading partner, is the most important potential new agreement, and that it could help Idaho businesses. “Agriculture has the absolute biggest room to grow,” she said at the meeting. Reilly said the U.S. is falling behind China, Canada, and European nations in lining up agreements removing barriers to trade.
“There is a huge, huge future of Idaho exports to other nations,” Crapo said.
The U.S. Chamber is holding a similar event discussing international trade in north Idaho Thursday with Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick. The business organization has endorsed both members of Congress in their re-election bid. Minnick has also introduced a resolution in the House calling on Congress to sign off on all three trade agreements.
[...] Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo spoke at a similar event in Boise Wednesday, and said that the free trade agreements are being held up by House Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Ca…. [...]