Daley says Korean deal could go to Hill soon

July 15, 2011

The Hill

Vicki Needham

The White House could send a free trade agreement with Korea with a worker retraining program to Congress "very soon."

White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley said Thursday night that the free trade deals, including the Korean pact will include Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) will head to Capitol Hill in the near future.

"There is no time to waste fighting politics as usual," Daley said in a speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce during an event with the U.S.-Korea Business Council, according to news reports. "If we do not act before the August recess, American business will suffer.

Congressional Republicans oppose attaching TAA to the Korean agreement but, so far, no resolution has been reached on how to move them separately with the guarantee that the worker-retraining program passes. 

"We can no longer wait," he said. "If there's no agreement on an alternative approach in the very near future, we will move forward to seek passage of the FTA with TAA."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a slew of other business groups support the renewal of the program that retrains workers who've lost their jobs because of foreign trade.

"We can't let differences over processes and procedures hold back these agreements any longer. American jobs and American standing in the world are on the line," said U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue.

Besides Korea, Congress is expecting final language on trade deals with Colombia and Panama.

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