U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during an East Room event October 8, 2010 at the White House in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)
(KATAKAMI / Reuters) - President Barack Obama signed defense industry trade agreements on Friday with close allies Britain and Australia, the White House said.
The pacts, designed to remove bureaucratic barriers and export license requirements between the nations' defense industries, had been held up in the U.S. Senate after being agreed to by then-President George W. Bush in 2007.
Obama assured British Prime Minister David Cameron during a White House visit in July that he was working hard with the Senate to get the treaty passed, which he said would be good for workers and troops in both countries. The Senate approved the pacts late last month.
