The agreements, which would reduce or eliminate tariffs, import quotas and preferences on goods, represent millions of dollars for the state's agriculture industry, McMillan and others said Tuesday.

"This could bring jobs to Alabama," McMillan said.

Jeff Helms, a spokesman with the Alabama Farmers' Federation, estimated the agreements represent $2.5 billion in agriculture exports and 22,500 agriculture-related jobs nationwide.

Agriculture is a leading industry in Alabama, exporting $900 million in products each year, Helms said.

Billy Powell of the Alabama Cattlemen's Association said that 15 percent of Alabama's beef goes overseas.

"We are on pace for a record year this year," he said.

South Korea is already the No. 3 importer of U.S. beef, according to information from the USDA. From Jan. 1 through the end of July this year, the United States shipped more than 87,000 metric tons of beef, about $409,000 worth, to South Korea, an increase of more than 53 percent from the same time period last year.

With the free trade agreement, the cost of U.S. beef to Korean consumers would be much lower and they would buy more U.S. beef, Powell said.

According to a recent Associated Press article, many congressional Democrats don't like the trade agreements but are open to votes if Congress extends expired provisions of the Kennedy-era Trade Adjustment Assistance program. Republicans are cool to TAA but won't object as long as the trade deals are completed.

Obama often has extolled the benefits of the three trade accords originally signed during the George W. Bush administration. But he has refrained from submitting them to Congress until he gets assurances that expanded aid continues for workers who lost their jobs because of trade.

McMillan said Tuesday that the agreements would mean more jobs -- not less -- in Alabama and that he has talked to some, but not all, of the state's congressional delegation members about supporting the agreements.

Given the growing presence of Korean companies in Alabama, a free trade agreement with that country makes sense, McMillan said. And more trade with Panama could benefit the port in Mobile.

"They are already shipping products here, so we need some back-and-forth," he said.

Story from the Montgomery Advertiser; Written by Mary Sell.

SOURCE: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/