Legislators encourage President Obama to extend free trade agreements

Society of American Florists reports that 67 House of Representative freshmen have sent a letter to President Obama encouraging him to pass free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. The President is expected to deliver a trade agreement with South Korea to Congress within weeks. He has given no indication when the Administration will address the trade agreements with Colombia and Panama.
Up until Feb, 12, flowers from Colombia and Ecuador entered the U.S. duty-free under the Andean Trade Preference and Drug Eradication Act. When the law expired, importers began paying duties on those flowers ranging from 3.4 to 6.8%.
Both H.B. 622 and S. 380 extend the provisions of ATPDEA. SAF reports advancement of these bills has slowed in Congress because Republicans want to link ratification of the U.S./Colombia free trade agreement to extending ATPDEA. Democrats, concerned about human rights violations in Colombia, want this issue addressed before lending their support to the free trade agreement.