The American Soybean Association (ASA) and a group representing nearly all sectors of U.S. agriculture called on President Barack Obama and Members of Congress to stand up for American exports and the jobs that depend on them by taking immediate action to implement the pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.

"Each of these trade agreements was signed at least four years ago," said ASA President Alan Kemper, a soybean producer from Lafayette, Ind. "The longer we wait to implement these agreements, the farther behind we will fall in those markets. Already, serious damage has been done and further delays will unquestionably cause further harm."

The Korean government released figures last week showing that during the first two weeks of the EU-Korea FTA, trade volume between the two rose 17.4 percent. Exports from Korea to the EU rose 19 percent and exports from the EU to Korea rose 16 percent.

"This new Korea-EU trade almost certainly came at the expense of U.S. agricultural products," Kemper said. "Korean importers will buy goods from sources that are eligible for reduced or zero tariffs, rather than from the U.S., which pays full import duties."

If there is any doubt about the seriousness of the problem for U.S. agricultural exports, one need only consider the damage that has already been done by the delay in implementing the Colombia FTA. Due to trade agreements Colombia has with Argentina and Brazil, U.S. exports of key commodities such as corn, wheat and soybeans have been hit hard, and the U.S. share of Colombia’s agricultural imports has fallen from 44 percent to 21 percent since 2007.

"It’s difficult to watch years of market development efforts evaporate in a matter of months because, even as low-cost producers, we are not able to compete on the basis of price," Kemper added. "If our competitors pay lower tariffs, we will become a residual supplier if we supply anything at all."

"Even if Congress approves the three FTAs in the fall, implementation would almost certainly be delayed past January 1, 2012, thereby putting us even farther behind our competitors," Kemper said.