[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 25, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S243-S244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 20--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE 
 UNITED STATES SHOULD IMMEDIATELY APPROVE THE UNITED STATES-KOREA FREE 
TRADE AGREEMENT, THE UNITED STATES-COLOMBIA TRADE PROMOTION AGREEMENT, 
         AND THE UNITED STATES-PANAMA TRADE PROMOTION AGREEMENT

  Mr. JOHANNS (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Roberts, 
Mr. Boozman, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Portman, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Lugar, 
Mr. Wicker, and Mr. Chambliss) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Finance:

                               S. Res. 20

       Whereas the United States has signed free trade agreements 
     with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama, but Congress has not 
     approved those agreements;
       Whereas, according to the United States International Trade 
     Commission, the gross domestic product of the United States 
     will likely increase by $10,100,000,000 to $11,900,000,000 as 
     a result of increased access to the market of South Korea 
     under the provisions of the United States-Korea Free Trade 
     Agreement;
       Whereas, according to the United States International Trade 
     Commission, implementing the United States-Korea Free Trade 
     Agreement will increase exports from the United States by an 
     estimated $9,700,000,000 to $10,900,000,000 each year;
       Whereas, according to the United States International Trade 
     Commission, implementing the United States-Korea Free Trade 
     Agreement would create 20,000 to 24,000 jobs in the United 
     States;
       Whereas the implementation of the United States-Korea Free 
     Trade Agreement will ensure that agricultural products 
     exported from the United States to South Korea receive 
     treatment equivalent to the treatment provided by the United 
     States to agricultural products exported from South Korea and 
     will significantly increase exports of agricultural products 
     from the United States to South Korea;
       Whereas the American Farm Bureau estimates an increase of 
     $1,800,000,000 in United States agricultural trade per year 
     after the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement is fully 
     implemented;
       Whereas increased trade will help to strengthen ties 
     between the United States and South Korea and advance 
     important national security goals;
       Whereas the United States and Colombia negotiated and 
     signed the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement 
     on November 22, 2006;
       Whereas, according to the Office of the United States Trade 
     Representative, Colombia is currently the 27th largest 
     trading partner of the United States with respect to goods;
       Whereas, according to the United States International Trade 
     Commission, implementation of the United States-Colombia 
     Trade Promotion Agreement will increase exports from the 
     United States by an estimated $1,100,000,000 each year;
       Whereas, according to the United States International Trade 
     Commission, implementation of the United States-Colombia 
     Trade Promotion Agreement will create 3,693 jobs;
       Whereas, in 2010, more than 90 percent of exports from 
     Colombia to the United States entered the United States duty-
     free under the Andean Trade Preference Act (19 U.S.C. 3201 et 
     seq.) and the Generalized System of Preferences under title V 
     of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.);
       Whereas, according to the United States International Trade 
     Commission, goods valued at $11,400,000,000 were exported 
     from the United States to Colombia in 2008, an increase from 
     $3,600,000,000 in 2002;
       Whereas, according to the Office of the United States Trade 
     Representative, more than 80 percent of consumer and 
     industrial products exported from the United States to 
     Colombia will enter Colombia duty-free as soon as the United 
     States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement enters into force 
     and all remaining tariffs on such products will be eliminated 
     within 10 years after the Agreement enters into force;
       Whereas, according to the Office of the United States Trade 
     Representative, the primary exports from the United States to 
     Colombia in 2008 were $2,600,000,000 in machinery, 
     $10,000,000,000 in mineral fuel, $974,000,000 in organic 
     chemicals, $969,000,000 in corn and wheat cereals, and 
     $950,000,000 in electrical machinery;
       Whereas, according to the Office of the United States Trade 
     Representative, Colombia is the 15th largest market for farm 
     products exported from the United States, with the United 
     States exporting almost $1,700,000,000 worth of farm products 
     to Colombia in 2008;
       Whereas, according to the Department of Agriculture, 99.9 
     percent of agricultural products imported into the United 
     States from Colombia already enter the United States duty-
     free, but no agricultural products exported from the United 
     States to Colombia currently enter Colombia duty-free;

[[Page S244]]

       Whereas, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, 
     the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement would 
     increase sales of agricultural products produced in the 
     United States by $910,000,000 each year;
       Whereas, according to the Department of Agriculture, more 
     than half of agricultural products exported from the United 
     States to Colombia will enter Colombia duty-free as soon as 
     the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement enters 
     into force and all remaining tariffs on such products will be 
     phased out over time;
       Whereas the United States and Panama, after 10 rounds of 
     negotiations, signed the United States-Panama Trade Promotion 
     Agreement on December 16, 2006;
       Whereas the United States values its long-standing 
     bilateral relationship with Panama;
       Whereas the National Assembly of Panama ratified the United 
     States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement by a vote of 58 to 4 
     on July 11, 2007;
       Whereas 88 percent of United States commercial and 
     industrial exports will enter Panama duty-free immediately 
     after the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement 
     enters into force and all remaining tariffs on such exports 
     will be phased out over 10 years;
       Whereas more than 60 percent of exports of agricultural 
     products from the United States will enter Panama duty-free 
     immediately after the United States-Panama Trade Promotion 
     Agreement enters into force and all remaining tariffs on 
     agricultural products will be phased out over 20 years;
       Whereas, according to the United States International Trade 
     Commission, the primary effect of the implementation of the 
     United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement will be to 
     increase exports from the United States to Panama because 96 
     percent of imports from Panama already enter the United 
     States duty-free; and
       Whereas concerns about Panama's alleged position as a ``tax 
     haven'' have been addressed with the November 30, 2010, 
     signing of a United States-Panama Tax Information Exchange 
     Agreement, which permits the competent authorities of the 
     United States and Panama to request information on most taxes 
     to better increase transparency in an attempt to combat 
     illegal financial transactions, including those linked to 
     drug smuggling and money laundering: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the Senate recognizes that the implementation of the 
     United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the United States-
     Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, and the United States-
     Panama Trade Promotion Agreement will--
       (A) create jobs in the United States;
       (B) increase export opportunities for businesses and 
     agricultural producers in the United States; and
       (C) further develop cross-cultural business relationships 
     between the United States and South Korea, Colombia, and 
     Panama, respectively; and
       (2) it is the sense of the Senate that it is in the 
     security, economic, and diplomatic interests of the United 
     States to enhance relationships with South Korea, Colombia, 
     and Panama, respectively, by immediately approving the United 
     States-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the United States-Colombia 
     Trade Promotion Agreement, and the United States-Panama Trade 
     Promotion Agreement.

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