As the debate over the pending trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama heats up this year, some of the perennial arguments against trade agreements are being heard anew. Let’s look at the charges and the facts:

Myth 1: Free trade agreements (FTAs) add to the U.S. trade deficit.

False. The eight agreements in the latest generation of U.S. FTAs -- covering a total of 13 countries -- have either moved the U.S. bilateral trade relationship from deficit to surplus or added to the surplus in every instance but one (the recent FTA with Oman).

In fact, 2010 marked the third straight year in which the United States has run a manufactured goods surplus in excess of $20 billion with our 17 FTA partners as a group. On top of that, the United States has long run large global trade surpluses in services and agricultural products.

Most economists argue that the trade balance is a poor measure of the success or failure of a trade agreement. However, for those who are concerned about the U.S. trade deficit, free trade agreements are part of the solution — not the problem.

Myth 2: FTAs destroy American jobs — and NAFTA is a case in point.

False. In fact, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that after the United States shed nearly two million manufacturing jobs in 1980-1993 (before NAFTA entered into force), U.S. manufacturers added 500,000 net new jobs in the seven years immediately after NAFTA entered into force.

A study commissioned by the U.S. Chamber released on May 14, 2010 found that nearly 18 million U.S. jobs depend on trade with America’s free trade agreement (FTA) partners — 5.4 million of which were created by the increase in trade unleashed by the agreements.

Myth 3: FTAs do little or nothing to help U.S. export growth.

False. In fact, U.S. FTAs have an excellent record boosting U.S. exports. On average, U.S. exports to new FTA partner countries have grown four times as rapidly in the 3-5 year period following the FTA's entry into force as U.S. exports to the world.

This boost to U.S. export growth is especially pronounced with more recent FTAs, which are front-loaded to eliminate foreign tariffs rapidly, open services markets, and eliminate non-tariff barriers more comprehensively than earlier FTAs.

The bottom line? The facts show America’s FTAs bring real benefits to U.S. exporters, workers, and farmers. It’s time to move forward with the pending trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama.