New Free Trade Agreements

On October 12, 2011, Congress approved three new free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. The agreements eliminate tariffs on goods sold between the U.S. and these trading partners.

The question is, are these agreements good or bad for small business? The answer: It depends who you ask.

• For the agreements: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, the NFIB, the National Retail Federation (NRF), and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). These groups argue that if the U.S. does not have free trade agreements, it will be at a disadvantage to countries in the European Union where such agreements already exist.

• Against the agreements:  The U.S. Business and Industry Council and the Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA). These groups and others against the measures argue that the free trade agreements will lead to more outsourcing and job losses in the U.S. and will mainly benefit large multinational corporations. Some also have human rights concerns.

Small businesses that want to take advantage of free trade agreements and export their goods have a number of resources to help:

• An overview of what a free trade agreement means can be found at the SBA.

• A Free Trade Agreement Tariff Tool from Export.gov, the government’s site to help U.S. exporters, that streamlines tariff information for 85 percent of goods going to more than 20 foreign markets with which the U.S. has negotiated trade agreements.

• The Export-Import Bank of the United States provides training and financial assistance for small business exporters.