Trade Pacts Clear Worker Aid Hurdle

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Congressional negotiators broke a weeks-long stalemate on trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, likely clearing the way for summer votes on the long-stalled deals, say people familiar with the situation.

Under a bipartisan compromise, a renewal of the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which aids workers displaced by trade, will be included in the Korea legislation. Republican opposition to the renewal, which the White House demands, had stalled progress on the deals for weeks.

Renewal of two programs providing preferential tariff treatment for certain goods from Andean nations to the U.S. will be included in the Colombia bill, these people say.

The deal allows the Senate Finance Committee to begin the process of revising the trade bills, known as a "mock markup," on Thursday, the people said. The three bills could then move toward a final vote, hoped for before Congress's August recess.