WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) are among a dozen Senators who support a plan that would allow the Senate to approve export agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea.

The Mississippi Senators have signed a letter to President Obama that says the lawmakers will support consideration of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) reauthorization legislation if the President agrees to decouple the TAA measure from the three pending trade agreements.  The President has insisted that TAA reforms be considered together with the trade pacts.

“The state of Mississippi produces agriculture products and other goods that could be more widely marketed with these trade agreements.  Our ports could also benefit from expanded American trade abroad,” Cochran said.  “Separating these export agreements from trade adjustment assistance is one way to ensure they can be successfully moved through Congress.”

“These trade agreements would help give American workers a level playing field in South Korea, Colombia, and Panama,” said Wicker.  “The expanded economic opportunities created by these agreements would help spur job growth.”

The Port of Gulfport and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority last year signed memorandums of understanding with the Panama Canal Authority to cooperatively promote the Mississippi facilities as part of international trade routes.  A $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal is expected to open in 2014, allowing larger vessels to pass between the eastern United States and Asia.

The letter indicates that if the three trade agreements are allowed to be considered apart from TAA reauthorization, the 12 Republican Senators will support a motion to allow the Senate to debate legislation to renew the TAA program.  TAA benefits are offered to U.S. workers who have been displaced by free trade.

          The letter to Obama was authored by Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio), a former U.S. Trade Representative, and Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).  In addition to Cochran and Wicker, the letter was signed by Senators John Boozman (R-Ark.), Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Dan Coats (R-Ind.), Susan Collins (R-Me.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

The following is the text of the correspondence:

Dear Mr. President,

As Republican Senators, we urge you to submit the Korea, Colombia and Panama trade agreements as soon as possible, with the understanding that we will support a separate Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) bill that reflects the bipartisan reforms negotiated by Chairmen Baucus and Camp and the White House.

In order to move this process forward, we commit to supporting cloture on the motion to proceed to such a TAA bill and cloture on the bill itself. We believe that the trade agreements and TAA should receive separate up or down votes on their merits.

We therefore urge you to separate the pending trade agreements and TAA, and immediately submit the three trade agreements to Congress.

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