Bilateral Trade Pacts Finally Advancing

Trade treaties with South Korea, Columbia, and Panama are finally advancing, with President Obama set to send the three deals to Congress for approval this week, reports the WSJ this morning. The agreements had been tied up in acrimonious domestic politics for some five years, but it appears that bipartisan desire to improve the US export picture has moved things forward.  Of the $13 billion in projected export increases due to the pacts, unsurprisingly South Korea accounts for the bulk of it – some $11 billion.  Trade deals produce domestic winners and losers, of course:

All three deals are expected to benefit U.S. agriculture by lifting or reducing tariffs on exports of U.S. commodities, machinery and chemicals, even as they present new challenges to the U.S. textile, electronics and floral industries. The U.S.-Korea agreement will double U.S. farm exports to Korea, to $3.8 billion annually, through increased sales of grains, fruits and vegetables, pork products and wine, the U.S. International Trade Commission has estimated.

U.S. financial services, legal and health-care companies stand to benefit by receiving the same legal treatment as Korean firms. Specially negotiated benefits to U.S. auto and electric car producers are expected to offer a marginal advantage to U.S. auto makers, who have difficulty competing against Korean makers.