WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Congress prepares this week to possibly vote on historic free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Panama and Colombia, nearly all major agriculture groups continue to stand behind passage of the measures.

The FTAs were bottled up in political gridlock for the past five years, since former President George W. Bush’s administration helped fashion the pacts. Unions, however, remain strongly opposed, including the only major ag union, the National Farmers Union (NFU).

President Obama last week sent the pacts to Congress for an immediate vote, and on Friday Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada – one Democrat who has said he’s fundamentally opposed to the pacts – said he would call the measures for a vote by today (Oct. 12).

“When they’re approved, these agreements will clear the way for new American exports around the world,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “(This will) create jobs and provide new income opportunities for agricultural producers, the small businesses that will assist in the export of those agricultural products and rural communities from whence they come.”

The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates the FTA with South Korea alone would boost America’s exports by some $10.9 billion in its first year; a deal with Colombia would mean an additional $1.1 billion in its first year.

Farmers such as John Howard, from southern Illinois and among the state Farm Bureau group that visited Colombia and Panama in March, said the votes “are a long time coming.

“We learned on that trip that for every $1 billion in exports, another 9,000 jobs are created here at home. I don’t see an argument against it,” Howard said.

All major ag trade groups are on board. “We are encouraged by the administration’s submission of the longstanding free trade agreements for ratification by Congress,” said Dr. Wendell Shauman, an Illinois corn farmer and chair of the U.S. Grains Council. “Passage of these agreements will help to immediately level the playing field and allow organizations like the council to aggressively re-engage with our international partners and win back lost market share.”

The progress in recent months was tied in part to agreements reached by Republican and Democratic leaders to extend so-called Trade Adjustment Assistance for workers displaced because of foreign competition.

“This is the biggest leap forward we have seen in nearly five years,” said Bill Donald, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. “Rural America is nearing a historic moment. These three agreements will create roughly 250,000 jobs right here in the United States and increase profitability for our nation’s family farmers and ranchers.”

Lafayette, Ind., soybean producer Alan Kemper, president of the American Soybean Assoc, said passage of the measures would stem the tide of lost export business to counties such as Brazil and Argentina.

“After nearly a five-year delay, we have experienced firsthand the loss of U.S. market share to competitors in those markets,” Kemper said. “We urge Congress and the White House to work together to take full advantage of the economic boost that these FTAs provide the American economy.”

Wayne Hurst, president of the National Assoc. of Wheat Growers, added, “We know there is strong support for these trade agreements on both sides of the aisle and in both Congressional chambers. We want members to work day and night until these agreements are done and duty-free access is in place for our growers and exporters.”

 The U.S. has free trade agreements with 17 countries, including Mexico and Canada. One ag group opposed to the new pacts is the NFU. President Roger Johnson said the pending FTAs are akin to “the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

“Both of those agreements have worsened the U.S. trade deficit, because the U.S. does not compete on a level playing field with other nations. America adheres to higher labor and environmental standards than other nations, so U.S. companies incur costs that companies in other nations do not,” he said.