Obama sends long-delayed trade deals to Congress

The pacts, signed under former president George W. Bush, are expected to boost U.S. exports by US$13 billion and benefit U.S. agriculture and manufacturing, and will form part of Obama's plan to cut 9.1 percent unemployment.

“These agreements will support tens of thousands of jobs across the country for workers making products stamped with three proud words: Made in America,” Obama said in a statement.

The move, instantly applauded by Obama's Republican foes and the U.S. business community, came after a nearly three-year feud fed by market-access and labor worries and a fight over aid to U.S. workers displaced by overseas competition.

There were immediate signs that the pacts could provide a rare moment of bipartisanship in deeply divided Washington.

“They will be a top priority for the House,” Republican House Speaker John Boehner said, but took a swipe at Obama's years-long delay in submitting them to Congress saying it “was unacceptably long and likely cost jobs.”

The office of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said the chamber would likely approve the deals next week, before the Senate acts.

The latest snag to winning congressional support for the deals came in a dispute over Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), a program to compensate workers who lose jobs to overseas competition.

But a compromise between Republicans and Democrats will now allow the accords to pass “in tandem” with TAA, Boehner said.

The pacts, which the White House says will boost ties with key allies, have however stirred worries among labor unions and lawmakers from rustbelt states suffering from high unemployment.

“With an exploding trade deficit that has caused massive job loss, now is not the time to pass more wrongheaded free trade agreements,” said Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio.

“Instead of practicing trade according to a textbook that's 20 years out of print, let's practice trade based on our national interests,” Brown said.

“We must put American workers first.”

The White House has been especially keen to get the trade deal with Seoul endorsed before the state visit to Washington of South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak on Oct. 13.

“These are three important partners in strategically vital regions. Countries everywhere are watching. Passing these deals proves that America can deliver for our friends and allies,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

In Bogota, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said that Obama had fulfilled a promise made during a meeting in April to submit the free trade deal for approval.

“I celebrate this step, because ... this means more economic growth and more jobs” in Colombia, he said.

Santos also called on Democrats and Republicans to “please, quickly approve the treaty.”

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