U.S. Chamber Applauds Senate for Advancing Trade Agenda

Ahead of Testimony, Brilliant Says Senate Vote Clearing the Way for FTAs Comes ‘Not a Moment Too Soon’

WASHINGTON D.C.—U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President for International Policy Myron Brilliant praised the Senate today for taking another step today to advance the American trade agenda ahead of his testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee tomorrow on the job-creating benefits of the pending trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.

"The Chamber welcomes today's vote to renew the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)," said Brilliant. "Above all, it clears the way for approval of the job-creating trade agreements — and not a moment too soon."

The Chamber supports the bipartisan compromise struck to extend Trade Adjustment Assistance to help displaced workers while cutting its cost significantly and believes the Generalized System of Preferences should be renewed as well.

In his testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee tomorrow, Brilliant will emphasize that, “This is foremost a debate about jobs. At a time when millions of Americans are out of work, these agreements will create real business opportunities that could generate hundreds of thousands of new jobs."

At the same time, a Chamber study has warned that the United States will lose more than 380,000 jobs and $40 billion in export sales if the pending agreements suffer further delays. For America’s small and medium-sized businesses, these agreements are critical. Nearly 30,000 U.S. small and mid-sized companies export to South Korea, Colombia, and Panama, and they account for roughly one-third of U.S. exports to these countries. Approval of the pending trade agreements will boost their sales and allow many more companies to tap these growing markets.