By: Congressman John R. Carter
Published: 04-11-08
Far to the Southeast of Texas lies the South American country of Colombia. This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Colombia with U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and other members of Congress. The purpose of this trip was to witness first-hand the importance of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has decided however that there will be no trade agreement with Colombia and in fact has changed the rules in the House causing this solid good-faith agreement that took years to mold and months to negotiate to completely disappear.
Seven years ago Colombia was nearly a failed state. Violence was rampant Colombians were fleeing their country and economic activity was plummeting. Colombia and the United States have worked to combat this violence over the years and together we have made substantial progress. President Uribe has made major progress in stemming the tide of violence in his own country and the shipment of drugs into ours. Colombia is doing a good job fighting terrorists despite support for Colombian guerillas by Hugo Chavez the dictator in Venezuela.
Yet we refuse to pass this agreement. We are sending the wrong message to one of our strongest South American allies and to those countries who are working to follow Colombia’s example.
The Colombia Free Trade Agreement would have represented the completion of a trade relationship-not the beginning of a new one. Through unilateral preference programs already approved by Congress nearly 92 percent of Colombian imports enter the U.S. duty-free.
American exported goods face heavy tariffs which can run as high as 35 percent for our manufactured goods and even higher for our agricultural products putting our Texas farmers ranchers workers and small businesses at a sever disadvantage. The current status is unbalanced. This agreement would have created a free and fair trade system for both parties.
Traveling to Colombia with Ambassador Schwab gave me an opportunity to witness the benefits our global competitors reap because of their expanded exports to Colombia through trade agreements. The United States cannot afford to fall behind and killing this agreement will create further uncertainty for our fragile economy.
Since September 11th we have made this nation’s prosperity our number one priority. Halfway around the world we fight terrorism and promote freedom with the strength of our military.
Within our own hemisphere we hold different weapons in the strength of our economy our business and our trade. We must utilize these tools to prevent tyranny and evil from gaining power in our own backyard. Instead Nancy Pelosi and the party in control of Congress put the prosperity of our nation on hold for purely political reasons. When will these games stop? When will this Congress stop working towards their own agenda and start working for the country and the people we represent?
