Good news on trade

Good news on trade

Kansas City Star: President Obama’s record on trade sometimes has been hard to decipher. He voted in favor of a free-trade pact with Peru, but against the Central American Free Trade Agreement. At times during his campaign, he questioned some benefits of liberalized trade.

That’s why a recent speech by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk is so encouraging.

Kirk announced that the administration is prepared to move ahead on free-trade accords with Panama, Colombia and South Korea. Those agreements, negotiated earlier by the Bush administration, still await action by Congress.

Split of opinion

Bipartisan support exists for the deal with Panama, Kirk said, but the accords with Colombia and South Korea are more controversial. Indeed, Obama opposed those two pacts while in the Senate.

Kirk also said he would seek ways to revive global trade talks that have been dormant for months. This, too, represents progress. The administration’s annual trade report to Congress, made public recently, discounted the need to revive these negotiations, which would lower trade barriers on a global basis.

With international trade cratering and U.S. exports down 16 percent, Kirk’s announcement is good news. It’s a clear sign the Obama administration understands that economic recovery depends in part on pushing hard against the forces that seek to close markets around the world.