Date: April 8, 2008

Author: John Veroneau

Source: Houston Chronicle  

The U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement provides Congress with a unique opportunity to help American workers and advance U.S. strategic interests in Latin America. 

Last year, Congress voted to continue duty-free access for nearly all Colombian goods entering the United States. Yet today, U.S. industrial and consumer goods exported to Colombia face tariffs up to 35 percent, with much higher tariffs for many agricultural products. For example, Colombian flowers come here duty-free, whereas U.S. beef exports face tariffs of 80 percent in the Colombian market. 

This puts American workers at a disadvantage. By approving the pending Colombia free trade agreement (FTA), Congress can level the playing field by eliminating tariffs on U.S. goods sent to Colombia. With exports accounting for more than 40 percent of our economic growth, Congress should not miss this opportunity to continue this growth and create better-paying jobs through trade. 

While the economic case for the Colombia FTA is compelling and straightforward, the foreign policy rationale for the agreement is even stronger. 

Colombia is a key U.S. ally in Latin America. Its current president, Alvaro Uribe, is immensely popular because over the past six years he has fought for and delivered peace, justice and prosperity to Colombia. 

Understanding how far Colombia has come under President Uribe's leadership requires an appreciation of Colombia's recent history. For many years, large parts of Colombia were controlled by terrorist organizations responsible for thousands of deaths. Their operations have been funded largely through the export of illicit drugs to the United States. 

Out of frustration with the ineffectiveness of government forces to combat these groups, private militias or "paramilitaries" were formed. Unfortunately, these paramilitaries eventually brought their own reign of terror on Colombia, supporting themselves through the illegal drug trade. 

Under President Uribe, rule of law has been re-established and terrorist activity has fallen dramatically. The ability of the paramilitary and other terrorist groups to operate has been sharply reduced. For the first time in many years, a legitimate state presence exists in each of Colombia's 1,099 municipalities. As peace has returned to Colombia, crime and human rights abuses have fallen, and economic growth has returned. 

In the late 1990s, Colombia was close to unraveling. Drug lords dominated the country, and the balance of power was shifting to terrorist groups. In the face of a severely deteriorating situation, President Clinton provided much needed funds for drug eradication, economic development and human rights protection under an initiative known as "Plan Colombia." With bipartisan support under Clinton, President Bush and Congress, the United States has provided more than $5 billion to help bring peace and stability to Colombia. 

Since 2002, kidnappings are down by more than 80 percent and killings are down by 40 percent. Homicides of union members have dropped by twice as much. Through increased funding for prosecutions, the establishment of an independent prosecutors unit, and the creation of a special program to protect labor unionists, the Uribe administration has demonstrated its commitment to prosecuting those responsible for violence against labor activists. 

Today, the murder rate in Colombia's major cities is lower than that of a number of major U.S. cities. 

And despite impressions to the contrary, Colombian union members are less than one-seventh as likely to be homicide victims as nonunion members. 

The Colombia FTA will help build upon these successes by making permanent the duty-free benefits that Congress approved last year, thereby providing economic opportunity and jobs for many Colombians who might otherwise be driven into illegal economic activities. 

Elsewhere in Latin America, radical political governments are curtailing democratic and economic freedom and substituting state control. 

Unfortunately, if Congress turns its back on Colombia by failing to approve this trade agreement, U.S. credibility in the region will be severely undermined. 

In passing the Colombia FTA, Congress has an opportunity to help American workers and to help the Colombian people finish reclaiming their country. 

This Congress worked in a bipartisan way to continue support for Plan Colombia and to continue duty-free treatment to virtually all goods from Colombia. 

It is now time to enact a fair and balanced trade agreement that will help Colombians secure a better future, while helping U.S. workers whose jobs increasingly rely on exports. 

Veroneau is the deputy U.S. trade representative.