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Trade agreements shouldn't be game piecesPolitics, like any game, is about strategy. And, strategically, the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Authority is the silver Monopoly shoe that can be bandied about in this time of presidential election politics. Republicans want the points a passage of the agreement would put in their column in November, or the ability to blame Democrats for not passing the legislation. A Democrat-led Congress would like nothing better than to blame the non-ratification of the agreement on Republican stubbornness to meet their demands. Or, better yet, pass the agreement after the election if a Democrat wins the Oval Office and score double. But farmers and ranchers know that politicians shouldn't be playing games with decisions that can affect their bottom lines. I don't know about you, but on my scorecard, $120 million dollars is a lot of money. That's the amount of U.S. wheat trade to Colombia at stake, according to figures from U.S. Wheat Associates. Simply put, Congress has to either ratify the current negotiated trade agreement before them, or the clock runs down to zero, we don't "pass Go" and we sure don't "collect $200." Negotiations with Colombia--which, by the way, has fully ratified the agreement--will start from scratch, under a new administration and without Fast Track Trade Authority. And our friendly relations with Colombia, our ally in South America, take a bruising. Meanwhile, our Canadian competition will have finalized their own trade agreement with Colombia, which will allow for duty-free imports of Canadian wheat. And, Argentina will continue to enjoy duty free access to Colombia under the current Mercosur agreement. The game will be over before we've even rolled the dice once. On my recent trip to Colombia with a U.S. Wheat Associates trade team, millers and bakers made one thing very clear. While they prefer to purchase U.S. wheat whenever possible, they don't have any qualms about replacing a large portion of our market share with duty-free Canadian or Argentine wheat. High wheat prices worldwide and rising transportation costs mean every cent they can save is one more cent their customers don't have to spend on a staple of life. When a consumer lives on $2 per day, it doesn't take an economic genius to realize high bread prices will result in lower demand. It's not as if members of Congress haven't been given the chance to visit Colombia in recent months to see and learn about the situation for themselves. Yet, they would rather listen to a few labor leaders here in the United States with deep pockets, rather than pay attention to the rest of their constituents. A fact sheet from the U.S. Trade Representative explains that Colombian efforts to strengthen their rule of law stretches beyond ending violence targeted at labor leaders. And that ratification of the treaty will further enforce Colombia's stance to ensure labor rights, rather than the opposite. The agreement also improves intellectual property rights, improves port security, and helps improve the environment. Most importantly, the agreement levels the playing field for agriculture. Already, nearly 100 percent of Colombian exports receive duty-free treatment in the U.S. under the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act. U.S. exporters will receive duty-free treatment on products accounting for more than half the value of current trade, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Politics shouldn't be a game of strategy, but that's what it's turned out to be. It's up to farmers and ranchers to remind their representatives that a non-ratification of this trade agreement could mean "game over" for their businesses. Associate Editor Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached by phone at 620-227-1807, or by e-mail at jlatzke@hpj.com. 4/28/08 Date: 4/23/08
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