WASHINGTON – American Action Forum President Douglas Holtz-Eakin today issued the following statement after sending a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to send pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea to Congress for approval.

“The pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea have been sitting on the shelf since the previous administration without any progress,” said Holtz-Eakin. “Since then, our nation’s unemployment rate has skyrocketed and our economy hit a recession and continues to struggle.

“These agreements could create more than 70,000 desperately needed jobs and increase total exports by $12 billion. They also enjoy bipartisan support which is why I find it puzzling that the President has failed to send them to Congress.

“His latest demand for renewal of Trade Adjustment Assistance as a condition for adoption of these agreements serves only to further delay these fully-vetted agreements. If our economy is going to rebound, Washington has to get out of the way and allow our businesses to compete globally on a level playing field.”

Click here to read the letter.