Doug Oberhelman, chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, will testify tomorrow before the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee on behalf of the Chamber. He will deliver a clarion call for approval of the pending free trade agreements with Panama (the primary focus of the hearing), Colombia, and Korea. Here’s a preview:

“In recent months, Caterpillar has been identified in the press as the company leading the charge to ensure that the Obama Administration and Congress enact all three pending Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) — not just the Korea FTA, but the Colombia and Panama FTAs as well…

It is no secret that the United States consistently runs a trade surplus in services and agriculture. However, the public and many policymakers too often fail to realize that the United States also runs a trade surplus in manufactured goods with our 17 FTA partners. The United States had a combined trade surplus of $21 billion in manufactured goods trade with our current FTA partners in 2010…"

"Others take trade with Latin America for granted. We think that’s incredibly short-sighted… Caterpillar exports to Latin America increased 58% last year — a faster rate of growth than we saw to any other region of the world. Today, six of Caterpillar’s ten largest export markets are in Latin America…

Trade barriers can take many forms. One of the most onerous trade barriers is inadequate infrastructure. After all, if you can’t physically get your products to market, the magnitude of the tariffs doesn’t really matter.

This is one reason why the expansion of the Panama Canal — one of the biggest public works project since the Three Gorges Dam in China — is so exciting for Caterpillar… We are doing our best to earn the business associated with the canal and all the other infrastructure projects being built in Panama…

I trust that the time for avoiding eye contact on tough issues and coming up with excuses for inaction is over. We need to work together to improve U.S. competitiveness, open foreign markets and create U.S. jobs. If we succeed, accountability is a concept we will all embrace…

Let’s not take any chances. I urge you to act now to pass the Panama, Colombia, and Korea FTAs.”

Download the full testimony, as prepared.