Lawmakers press forward with free trade agreements

Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said he was disappointed with the lack of detail on a plan to “move the long-stalled Colombia and Panama trade agreements.”

“We should address each of the three trade agreements in the next six months,” Camp said in a statement. “They would open new markets to U.S. exports and, in turn, benefit American businesses, farmers, workers, and consumers. If the U.S. fails to implement our own trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, we will only lose ground to our foreign competitors and jeopardize U.S. job creation.”

Ways and Means Republican Kevin Brady (Texas) also said the trade agreements can be completed within a six-month timeframe. 

But he expressed some concern over the Colombia and Panama agreements saying they “are ready, we have the votes the more we delay the more we damage our economy.”