Stalled free trade deals now on a fast track, White House says
Three free trade deals – with South Korea, Panama, and Colombia – will be signed, sealed, and delivered by the middle of next week, predicts White House Chief of Staff William Daley. For Washington, that would be fast work.
White House Chief of Staff William Daley speaks at the Washington Ideas forum at The Newseum, yesterday.
Yuri Gripas/Reuters
Washington
By the time South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak arrives at the White House for a state dinner honoring him next Thursday, President Obama will be able to present him with a ratified US-Korea free trade agreement.
That’s the prediction of White House Chief of Staff William Daley, who confidently told a Washington audience of business leaders and diplomats Wednesday night that Congress will approve a package of three free-trade deals and domestic trade-impact legislation by the middle of next week.
Mr. Daley told guests at the National Foreign Trade Council’s annual black-tie dinner that the four-part trade package – free trade deals with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama, plus legislation that renews funding for retraining workers who lose jobs to foreign competition – will move “across the finish line” next Wednesday.
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