TAA was created in 1962 and subsequently amended in 1974 and 2002. In 2009, the program was further expanded as part of the Recovery Act, and the 2009 provisions expired in February of this year. In negotiations involving the Obama administration and House and Senate leaders to extend TAA, provisions have been reduced to 2002 levels and in some areas have been reduced even below those levels, with complete expiration of the program slated at the end of 2014. Democrats in Congress want to tie the extension to KORUS, while Republicans want TAA to be treated in separate legislation.

At the same time, there is widespread bipartisan support for the three FTAs, which are seen as instruments to increase U.S. export trade, and leaders of both committees have warned that while the United States delays implementation of these agreements, the U.S. jobs they purportedly will create will go instead to workers in other countries and regions that have signed FTAs with these countries — most notably, the European Union, which has just implemented a FTA with South Korea; and Canada, whose FTA with Colombia will be implemented in August.

The U.S. textile industry has issues with KORUS but supports the Colombia and Panama pacts. The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) has been quite vocal in its opposition to KORUS, charging that rather than creating jobs in the textile and apparel industry, that FTA will destroy jobs — as many as 40,000 jobs directly and indirectly tied to textiles and apparel, but also 159,000 jobs overall — because U.S. and Korean textile products are not treated equally under the agreement and the removal of certain textile enforcement measures will enable significant illegal transshipments of Chinese-made goods.

"It is disconcerting that at a time of economic uncertainty that the U.S. Congress is choosing to move forward on the Korea FTA which is a flawed trade agreement that will cause significant jobs losses in the U.S. textile and apparel sectors," said NCTO President Cass Johnson. "Our industry is one of the few that has continued to add jobs over the last year. The Korea FTA puts these jobs and future jobs in serious jeopardy," he said, referring to the 2,500 direct and 7,500 indirect jobs created in the sector in the last year.

U.S. retailers and importers have a slightly different viewpoint regarding KORUS, and both the National Retail Federation (NRF) and the American Apparel & Footwear Association issued statements supporting all three FTAs and urging quick passage of legislation that would implement them.

"Making it easier for U.S. companies to export their goods overseas creates U.S. jobs," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. "That puts more spending power into the hands of American families and increases consumer demand in a way that is a win-win for both the United States and our trading partners. Congress needs to complete work on this legislation and allow these agreements to take effect as soon as possible to let our business and workers begin to benefit from their provisions."

"The U.S. apparel and footwear industry is able to maintain its competitive edge in the global marketplace when we reduce barriers to trade," said AAFA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke. "Along with the passage of the pending free trade agreements, we look forward to immediate and retroactive renewal of the Andean Trade Preferences Act (ATA), the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA). Creating certainty and opportunities for growth will enable our industry, and the more than one million U.S. workers we employ, to continue delivering quality, safe, and affordable clothing and shoes to hardworking American families."