The U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) will benefit the people of both America and Colombia and must be passed by Congress without political posturing.
Recently, President Bush sent a letter to Congress to implement an American free trade agreement with Colombia. The pact would help create more jobs in the United States by opening Colombian markets to our agricultural, manufactured products and services. The agreement would also help Colombia improve its economy and strengthen its democracy.
The agreement would allow the United States to export numerous products to Colombia duty-free and allow Colombian exports to continue to enter the United States without tariffs. Currently, American products exported to Colombia have tariffs of 35 percent for non-agricultural goods and even higher for agricultural products. The CFTA will make American products as accessible to Colombians as Colombian products are to America by eliminating tariffs on more than 80 percent of American exports of industrial and consumer goods.
Exports account for almost half of all economic growth in the United States. The CFTA will stimulate the slowing economy by increasing American exports to Colombia by $1.1 billion annually. More than 9,000 American businesses are involved in trade with Colombia. This means freer trade with Colombia will increase sales and create more high-paying jobs. The CFTA will also benefit the American agriculture, construction, medical and scientific sectors that rely on products exported to Colombia. Key products in these areas would be acquired duty-free. Farmers would also benefit if expensive exports like beef, cotton, soybeans and fruit are exported to Colombia without tariffs. The National Association of Manufacturers President John Engler urged passage of the CFTA saying it “will mean more jobs in the U.S. and an increase of $2.5 billion in economic growth in a time our economy needs a boost.”
The Colombia Free Trade Agreement goes beyond economic growth for both Colombia and the United States: it will improve American national security by bolstering a strategic ally in the war on terror. Colombian President Uribe has been a courageous leader who is attempting to provide economic stability and democratic freedoms to the Colombian people. His government has worked fervently to put an end to drugs, crime and terror. Since 2002, the crime rate has been dramatically cut in half and the cocaine production has declined by 30 percent. Great strides have also been made to combat the problem of human trafficking. President Uribe has accomplished this by demobilizing tens of thousands of paramilitary groups. He has established an independent prosecutors unit and created a special program that protects labor activists. Violence against members of labor unions has diminished significantly. The government has also worked to reduce poverty by 20 percent since 2002. There is no doubt that Colombia’s economic and social progress will be strengthened with the passage of CFTA.
Unfortunately, Congressional Democrats have stalled consideration of the agreement. Many Democrats, such as presidential aspirants Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, believe the trade agreement does not extend enough privileges to Colombian labor activists, and that it does not alleviate the country’s problem of crime. But what these Democrats fail to realize is that by stalling the legislation, they will only weaken the Colombian economy and thwart the democratic ideals currently being formed. Furthermore, Venezuelan authoritarian Hugo Chavez gets a kick out of U.S. Congressional dawdling, obstruction and opposition.
With all the partisan political posturing in a presidential election year, how will this passage occur? The Democratic presidential candidates and Congressional leaders have taken anti-free trade positions to assuage the strong, adamant demands of labor union leaders. If the Colombian Free Trade Agreement is not passed in the next few months, then it will need to pass after the November elections in a “lame duck” session to avoid alienating Democratic Party factions. Indeed, by the end of this year, Congress must pass the U.S. free trade agreements with Korea, Panama and Colombia. Each of these agreements benefits American job growth and allows access to foreign markets of good friends and allies of American goods and services. By passing the CFTA, America will also be helping a friend in need and demonstrating worldwide support. Republicans and Democrats alike should unite to pass this beneficial agreement sooner, rather than later.
