editorials

The dismal jobs report released this month has renewed double-dip recession fears. The U.S. Commerce Department reported that the national unemployment rate shot back up to 9.1 percent. Only 54,000 net new jobs were added in May, far fewer than were anticipated.

The job growth came from the private sector, while there was an overall reduction in government employment. That trend is likely to accelerate as states and the federal government deal with deficits and debt.

There is no singular path out of the jobs morass. But one certain contributor to job creation would be to realize President Obama's goal of doubling U.S. exports over a five-year period.

This ambitious goal would have a much better chance if Congress passed free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. The usual partisan positioning has left these deals languishing, which hurts America's economy, businesses and workers.

In particular, the United States risks being left behind in realizing trade opportunities in South Korea. Already the seventh-largest U.S. trading partner and the fifth-largest market for agricultural goods, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, South Korea's dynamic economy is ideally suited for Minnesota's mix of medical, manufacturing and agricultural products. Already last year, Minnesota manufactured exports to South Korea -- our state's sixth-largest trading partner -- were up 20 percent to a total of $605 million, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. The reduction and eventual elimination of tariffs would undoubtedly raise that figure.

It's already taken too long to ratify the agreement, which is putting U.S. firms at risk in falling behind their European Union counterparts, said Han Duk-soo, the South Korean ambassador to the United States, who met with a Star Tribune editorial writer last week. "If [Congress] does not act by July 1, our first E.U. agreements will begin to be implemented, which will put U.S. companies at a very disadvantageous position," he said.

Beyond improving America's economic security, the South Korean Free Trade Agreement would strengthen our military security.

While much U.S. attention has focused on Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya and, increasingly, Yemen, the Korean Peninsula remains one of the most dangerous places in the world. Twice last year North Korea, which has nuclear weapons, attacked South Korea. The unstable, inscrutable regime may become even more unpredictable as North Korean leader Kim Jong Il tries to pass leadership on to his son.

The United States has more than 28,000 troops in South Korea, according to the State Department, and would be immediately drawn into any broader armed conflict between the two nations.

The best way to avoid such a tragedy, and denuclearize North Korea, would be through the so-called six-party peace talks involving North and South Korea, the United States, Japan, China and Russia. North Korea has long sought direct peace talks with the United States, which we have rightly rejected. Now sealing a trade deal that solidifies our stalwart ally would send a message to North Korea that the bond between our two countries will not be broken.

Now is the time to act on free trade, for all three countries. America can compete with the rest of the world, and with the stakes so high, there's no time to waste.