Although the free-trade agreements Congress passed last week may expand business and spur job growth nationally, Santa Barbara County cut-flower growers are disappointed the deals don’t help them compete with international imports.

Congress passed trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea on Wednesday, and supporters estimate they will mean as much as $13 billion annually in new exports for American businesses, industry and manufacturers.

But Colombia has captured 80 percent of the United States’ cut-flower market and a duty-free agreement will continue the influx of cheap flowers into the market stronghold, said Kasey Cronquist, CEO of the California Cut Flower Commission.

“The important part that we understand and appreciate is the benefit of access to the Colombian market by our agricultural colleagues, whether it’s rice, wheat or beef,” he told Noozhawk. “There’s an interest in this trade relationship being something they would benefit from as fellow farmers. However, for us this agreement is a one-way street; it doesn’t provide a market to sell our products into.”

The U.S. agriculture industry has supported the deals, which could reopen international markets for high-quality beef, poultry, wheat and soybeans, as well as benefit the auto industry by cutting back South Korean tariffs.

“We have figured that the opening of those three markets would increase California exports by about $239 million a year, and all those exports add jobs throughout the state’s economy,” California Farm Bureau Federation spokesman Dave Kranz said.

The farm bureau federation recognized that the agreements don’t affect every sector equally, however, and is supporting the California Cut Flower Comission’s push for a $15 million grant that would level the playing field by increasing distribution efficiency, Cronquist said.

A 200,000-square-foot transportation center in Oxnard would be able to reduce industry shipping costs by 22 percent to 34 percent by better coordinating hundreds of carrier routes, he said.

“Over a 20-year period we’ve seen the loss of (nearly half our) farms and production crops,” Cronquist said. “What we’re saying is now is the time to make an investment in an industry impacted by decisions made in Washington, D.C., to help them maintain and thrive for the long term knowing there will be a permanent trade relationship and duty-free access of these flowers from Colombia.”

Cronquist praised the support from several lawmakers, including Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, who addressed the House of Representatives about the issue last week. Capps said Colombia does not meet the high standards the United States should be demanding of its trading partners, the agreement solidifies trade preferences that have devastated the California cut-flower industry and it would continue millions of dollars in subsidies when local farmers don’t receive the same support.

The Chambers of Commerce Alliance of Ventura & Santa Barbara Counties supports the free-trade agreements and questions why Capps voted against all three when only one — Colombia’s — pertains to the cut-flower industry, Chamber Alliance executive director Brendan Huffman said.

California farms have a $10.3 billion impact on the economy and employ 14,500 people directly, which are currently at risk, Cronquist said.

Ocean Breeze Farms’ Rene Van Wingerden has reorganized his business by cutting costs and finding unique crops to grow. Currently some consumers can’t discern where their flowers are coming from, so he is encouraging more retailers to put “CA Grown” stickers on their bouquets.

“We’re not asking for handout but a hand up,” Van Wingerden said. “I feel we kind of got dumped by our leaders.”

While the free-trade agreements can’t be amended, the local growers’ best hope for their funding requests is through “another vehicle for its passing,” said Josh Rolph, national affairs director of the California Farm Bureau Federation.

— Noozhawk business writer Alex Kacik can be reached at akacik@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.