A battle in Congress could kill the South Korea, Colombia and Panama trade agreements, but it could breathe new life into the California flower industry.
California growers, besieged by imports of Colombian blooms, have gained two advantages from the trade-deal fight. It has caused Colombian flower prices to rise and delayed at least until fall the pact with Bogota, which would grant their rivals permanent, tariff-free access to the U.S. market. California's big cut-flower industry is using the impasse to lobby Congress for money to help it compete if and when the deal goes through.
Sales of California cut flowers and foliage total more than $350 million a year, and the industry pumps about $5.5 million a day into the state's economy, according to the California Cut Flower Commission, which represents growers in the state. But over the past two decades Colombia has captured 75% of the U.S. cut-flower market.
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