Hoyer seeks bipartisanship on trade

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday night that he was committed to building bipartisan support behind trade agreements with Colombia and South Korea that are dividing his caucus.

{mosads}In a speech at the National Foreign Trade Council’s annual dinner, Hoyer expressed confidence that a less controversial agreement with Peru would pass the House soon with bipartisan support, and that other deals would be moved the same way. He noted that business has criticized Congress for moving too slowly on trade, but noted that business also wants trade agreements to move with bipartisan support.

“If you want that outcome, you have to be willing to do the work,” he said. “We will do the same with the other agreements — define the problems and seek solutions.”

Hoyer, who pronounced himself an advocate for free and fair trade, did not suggest when agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea might move. President Bush and congressional Republicans have called for the deals to be moved as soon as possible.

Hoyer was introduced to the pro-trade crowd by U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, a former dean at the University of Maryland, where Hoyer is a board member. When Schwab was nominated as a deputy U.S. trade representative, Hoyer testified on her behalf at the Senate and described Schwab as someone who would seek bipartisan consensus.

“I was heartened by his reiteration of the commitments that we’ve heard from the congressional leadership,” Schwab said Wednesday at a breakfast sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor.

Democrats are opposed to the Colombia agreement because of violence they say is targeted at trade union organizers. The South Korea deal has been jeopardized by a continuing dispute over beef that has drawn Democratic and Republican objections, as well as opposition from members unhappy with how the deal would affect auto trade. Another deal with Panama is in trouble because of the election in that country of an assembly speaker wanted in the U.S. for the murder of an American serviceman.

Hoyer’s comments about bipartisan support suggest controversial trade deals might need more changes before they could win support from Democrats, but Schwab signaled opposition to changing the Korean deal, which has already been signed by both countries.

Schwab said she would love to engage in a debate with members over the Korean FTA, including its auto provisions. Pressed over whether she was open to changing the deal due to opposition from automakers, Schwab said, “I don’t think there’s any need to.”

In his speech, Hoyer pressed the administration to be sensitive to members who believe trade has had a negative impact on their districts. The dislocation of workers is real regardless of the cause, and it is a problem that must be dealt with, Hoyer said. “The challenge for Congress — and all of us — is to address these legitimate concerns, whether through trade agreements or other legislative activities,” he said.

Hoyer took aim at Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who in speaking earlier had mentioned dozens of statistics highlighting the positive impact of trade on the U.S. economy. Hoyer said he was sure Gutierrez’s statistics were accurate, but then noted that 3.1 million U.S. manufacturing jobs have been lost between 2001 and 2006.

The House will move legislation renewing trade-adjustment assistance for workers as it moves the Peru deal, Hoyer stated.

Schwab said perceptions of trade’s impact on the economy are worse than the reality. “I appreciated the distinction that he drew between the impact of trade on domestic economy and domestic jobs, and the perception. I think we’d all agree that the perception that trade has a negative impact on jobs is much more perception that it is reality,” she said.