Senate approves bump in funding for trade office; three accords signed

The increase has a chance of going through the House, as well. 

“USTR must have adequate resources to be the champion for American workers, farmers, and businesses in seeking new markets abroad and in challenging countries that don’t follow the rules,” a GOP aide told The Hill on Friday. 

Obama signed the trade pacts with South Korea, Panama and Colombia as well as a streamlined measure that provides trade adjustment assistance for workers.

“These trade agreements will significantly boost American exports, support tens of thousands of American jobs and protect labor rights, the environment and intellectual property,” the White House said in a release.  

Congress passed the deals Oct. 13, a day before South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s state visit and address to a joint session of Congress. 

Passage of the deals represented a significant legislative victory for the president, although a majority of Democrats in the House opposed the accords, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who voted against the Colombia deal but for Korea and Panama. 

“I hope these agreements are just the beginning of policies we can pass to help create further opportunities for American manufacturers, farmers and service providers who compete globally,” Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said in a statement.  

“The administration should aggressively continue the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, consider new bilateral export agreements and request Trade Promotion Authority so our trade negotiators can get the best possible deal at the negotiating table.” 

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said the deals would create U.S. jobs, spur economic growth and open foreign markets.

“Approving these agreements, together with a robust TAA extension, represents a major breakthrough in our job-creating trade agenda,” Baucus said. 

“With new access to lucrative markets, our farmers, ranchers and businesses will add billions in economic output and create tens of thousands of jobs here at home,” he said. 

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Trade subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said the trade bills will be a catalyst for new U.S. jobs as the unemployment rate remains at 9.1 percent. 

“Finally, we are sending a signal to our competitors and allies alike that the United States is committed to a robust trade agenda that levels the playing field for American workers, consumers and businesses and creates new markets for our goods and services,” Camp said. 

“But it’s more than that. With 95 percent of consumers living outside of the United States, we have to move ahead with such agreements or else our competitors in Europe and Canada will seize these markets from us and from our workers.”

Not all is rosy on the trade front, as Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) sent a letter to the Obama administration last week urging officials to “change course on trade policy.”

“The mere fact that our federal government has a retraining program for workers affected by lopsided trade deals just goes to show that NAFTA-style agreements more often than not do not live up to the job-creation promises made by their supporters,” he said. 

“This administration should apply benchmarks for the implementation of the trade deals, and beyond that, we must reorient our trade policy so that before we rush into these agreements, we take steps that will ensure that future trade agreements live up to the promises.”