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President sends Colombian Free Trade Agreement to CongressBy Jennifer M. Latzke
American farmers and ranchers are one step closer to a finalized free trade agreement with Colombia, and a gain of $690 million in trade of agricultural goods each year. On April 7, President Bush sent the implementing legislation for the Colombia Free Trade Agreement to Congress for consideration. The administration negotiated the FTA 16 months ago under the President's Fast Track Authority, which expired in 2007. Under the President's Trade Promotional Authority, the legislation must be sent to Congress, which has 90 legislative days to act. The administration, which also negotiated agreements with Peru, Panama and South Korea, was waiting for bipartisan support in Congress before sending the legislation forward for consideration. The Peruvian agreement received congressional approval and is in the final implementation stages. Colombian market for U.S. ag U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer discussed the Colombian Free Trade Agreement in a teleconference with reporters April 8. U.S. agriculture will gain a great deal from an approved Colombian FTA, Schafer said. "Colombia is the largest market for our agriculture exports in South America, buying a record $1.2 billion of our agriculture products in 2007," he said. "What's interesting is that this market for our goods is growing despite the fact that all of our goods face duties and tariffs entering Colombia." The trade between Colombia and the United States is one-sided, as 99 percent of Colombian food and agriculture products come into the states without any duty, and the negotiated trade agreements will level that out, Schafer said. "It removes duties on more than 70 percent of our ag products immediately," Schafer said. "U.S. farm exports to Colombia that will receive immediate duty-free treatment on products including high quality beef, cotton, wheat and soybeans. Many specialty crops will also become duty free, including apples, pears, cherries and many processed food products like frozen French fries and cookies. The remaining tariff on our products will be eliminated over time." Products that will most benefit will be beef, pork, corn, wheat, barley, cotton and processed foods. The hold up The hold up on the Colombian Free Trade Agreement was on the part of the Democrats in Congress who wanted enforceable labor and environmental standards to be added to the agreement. Those standards were added in May 2007, but still bipartisan support has been slow in coming. Schafer explained the administration has worked to educate members of Congress on the importance of a Colombian Free Trade Agreement to American farmers and ranchers as well as Colombian consumers. "As the president said yesterday, sending the implementing legislation to the Hill is neither the beginning nor the end of our cooperative efforts with Congress," Schafer said. "Rather, it is an important milestone for this FTA. The administration has held more than 400 consultations, meetings and calls with members of Congress and congressional leadership. I myself have reached out to members of Congress to discuss this agreement." The prevalent theory in Washington, D.C., is that the agreement is tied up in presidential politics--the Democratic leaders don't want to see a Republican president take praise for a beneficial trade agreement during a hotly contested presidential race. "You know, we've got to ship our agriculture products outside this country, and I do not believe that the protectionism comes from the American citizen," Schafer said. "They want to see economic activity, they want to see job growth, and they want to see increased exports and increased economic opportunity in their communities. The hang-up we have right now is purely political. As you saw a strong bipartisan support in the Peru agreement, we should see a strong bipartisan support for Colombia as well. If we can get the proper votes, I think that's what will happen." Additionally, Democrats also have to walk a fine line in passing legislation that is perceived by U.S. labor interests as being "anti-labor." Of particular concern to Democrats is the historic level of violence in Colombia aimed at labor leaders. The administration has hosted trips to the South American country for 60 members of Congress in an attempt to demonstrate the progress made in the country. "Colombia is a key ally in our hemisphere, and this agreement helps strengthen our national security," Schafer said. "There are concerns about violence in Colombia, but we believe, as does Colombia, that one of the best ways to help address them is through increased trade. It stimulates the economy and creates jobs, two crucial factors in stabilizing a society." Schafer added that since 2002 kidnappings and homicides and terrorist attacks have decreased dramatically. Colombians have also enjoyed record economic growth and a free trade agreement will help them continue in this direction, he said. It will level the playing field, create jobs, allow for fair competition, and capitalize on the strength of the parties involved, Schafer added.
The administration's strategic standpoint, Schafer explained, is that more than 40 agricultural organizations, trade associations and more have put their support to the agreement because it will benefit the U.S. economy. "We are going to continue to point out the economic benefits of trade for agriculture, and we are going to ask members of Congress as I did this morning in my budget hearing to vote for agriculture to vote for their constituents to vote to improve our relationships between the two countries and support the free trade agreement," Schafer said. "The administration will be contacting people to vote their hearts. And as long as the specifically Democratic Caucus doesn't take strong stances against this, if they allow their members to vote for what's right for America's pocketbook, then we think we'll get the votes from Congress." Adding to the current situation is that Canada is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with Colombia that mirrors what the U.S. has already worked out. If the United States does not approve the already negotiated agreement on the table with Colombia, which has been approved by all sectors in the Colombian government, then Canada will swoop in and take over U.S. marketshare in the country. "Approval of the Colombian Free Trade Agreement is good for American farmers," Schafer said. "The president, this administration and I are committed to seeing that Congress acts on this very important legislation. It's the right thing to do for America's economy and for American farmers." Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached by phone at 620-227-1807, or by e-mail at jlatzke@hpj.com. 4/21/08 Date: 4/15/08 Advertisement
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