In White House Threatens to Hold Up Trade Pacts, yesterday’s Wall Street Journal reports that pacts with South Korea, Columbia and Panama will stall without an agreement to extend assistance to displaced U.S. workers…
The administration, along with a few rust-belt Republicans, support the renewal of the expired [$800 million a year] Trade Adjustment Assistance Program – an entitlement for workers displaced by foreign trade… U.S. Trade Rep Ron Kirk says “we will not submit the pacts without an agreement.”
Oh well, no big deal – if TAA isn’t renewed and the trade pacts die on the shelf, we won’t have to worry about it, since we won’t be losing jobs due to increased foreign trade…
Then maybe, when we get our fiscal house in order, someone will propose the PAA – Protectionist Adjustment Assistance Program – to provide assistance and training for the thousands who won’t be going to work anytime soon, since the trade pacts, that would’ve been worth $13 billion annually in U.S. exports, were never signed…
By the way, a pact between South Korea and the European Union goes into effect in July….
If you’re our client, don’t worry, we’ll absolutely exploit the obvious benefits of foreign trade, even when it happens, alas, outside our borders…