WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - A top U.S. business group on Thursday urged President Barack Obama to make good on his goal of doubling exports and improving trade ties with Panama, Colombia and South Korea by moving quickly to win congressional approval of long-delayed trade pacts with those countries.
"The President's proposal to double U.S. exports over the next five years and in turn create two million jobs will in part hinge on whether the United States can open new markets," said Bill Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council.
"This means that the administration must act swiftly and without further delay this year to resolve remaining issues that stand in the way of bringing each pending free-trade agreement to Congress for an up-or-down vote," Reinsch said.
"Now is the time for action, and we urge the president to advance the process as soon as possible," he said.
The council's members include big exporters like Boeing
Obama, in an overture to Republicans and business groups that have criticized him for inaction on trade, used his first State of the Union speech on Wednesday to call for closer trade ties with Panama, South Korea and Colombia.
He stopped short in the speech of asking lawmakers to approve the pacts, which have faced strong congressional opposition by members of Obama's Democratic party ever since they were negotiated by the administration of former President George W. Bush.
But Obama, who has pledged to fix concerns raised by Democrats about the agreements, said the United States could not afford to sit "on the sidelines" while other countries are busily negotiating trade deals.
Reinsch picked up on that theme, saying the United States would lose out to competitors such as China, Canada and the European Union if it does not approve the trade deals.
"If we continue to wait to for a politically opportune time to take action on our pending trade deals, we will be second to our competitors in these markets," Reinsch said.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which urged Obama to set a goal of doubling exports, has estimated that some 383,400 jobs could be lost if Congress fails to approve the trade deals with Colombia and South Korea.
(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Philip Barbara)