Immediately after approval and enactment of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, over 80% of U.S. exports to Colombia would enter Columbia duty-free and remaining tariffs will be phased out within a decade. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, in 2007 total U.S. goods exports to Colombia reached $8.6 billion. The U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement will only continue to enhance this dynamic and increase U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).

 

“It is time to implement the US-Colombia FTA. This agreement benefits taxpayers by increasing product choice and lowering prices,” stated Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform, “A tariff is nothing more than a tax on international commerce. Since tariffs and trade barriers amount to government-imposed costs on both companies and consumers, eliminating these barriers in a free trade agreement amounts to a significant tax cut for both countries,” added Norquist.

 

The U.S. will have access to $4 billion in new markets and the American agricultural industry will see an estimated $1.1 billion dollar overall increase in their exports alone. Speaker Pelosi stalled the FTA arguing that level of violence against labor organizers in Colombia was too high to support free trade. However, since President Uribe became president in 2002 rates of homicide, kidnapping, infrastructure attacks, and terrorist attacks have fallen drastically. In addition, the agreement goes further than previous agreements in incorporating labor protections, including guaranteed fundamental labor rights, dispute settlement parity, freedom of association in Colombia, and prohibition on forced labor.

 

1) At a recent news conference a Hispanic news media reporter asked Obama about his upcoming meeting with Chilean president Bachelet and Colombian president Uribe. Obama's response was lengthy and devoid of substance as usual. Obama was able to remember the name Bachelet and used it in his response, but then went on to talk about Brazil. He never did mention Colombia or president Uribe at all. The impression one is left with is that Obama has absolutely no working knowledge of South America or the importance of Colombia to the region.
>> SunnStarr Friday, June 26, 2009 5:06 PM

2) In Colombia, as in the rest of the world, there is an acute awareness of the fact that Obama has sealed not only his Birth Certificate, but also his college education and health records. Most Colombians are also aware of the fact that there has been no proof provided by anyone that Obama meets the "Natural Born Citizen" requirements of the U. S. Constitution. The fact that a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia (America's most important partner in South America) would be the least the new American president should do is completely lost on Obama. Instead, his socialist and pro-Islamic tendencies seem to take center stage.
>> SunnStarr Friday, June 26, 2009 5:12 PM

3) While most everyone in the world understands who Hugo Chavez is and the threat he poses to freedom and democracy in South America, Obama seems more interested in providing Chavez with a photo op and giving him credibility with the Russians. This is not very different to Obama's approach when it comes to Israel, Lebanon and Iran. There he also places a premium on scoring points with the Muslim world - even at the expense of freedom and justice in the region. It is particularly disgusting to see him ignore the struggle that the women of Iran are involved in as we speak.
>> SunnStarr Friday, June 26, 2009 5:18 PM

4) Obama's excuse for denying Colombia the Free Trade Agreement is "human rights' - as if Colombians were not aware of the hypocrisy of providing terrorists 'Miranda' legal rights of American Citizens while at the same time rationalizing that the unborn children in the womb have no human rights. Unless Americans wake up to the reality that Obama is not who he claimed to be during the election, one of their truest and most loyal allies in South America may end up being alienated for no apparent reason.
>> SunnStarr Friday, June 26, 2009 5:24 PM

5) It is time for people to start speaking up for Colombia and to stop trying to be "cool' (per Hollywood standards) and disregarding common sense and basic moral principles. This is my way of doing just that. Hopefully it will reach some of the readers and inspire them to take action. Cap and Trade "global taxes" are wrong. Tariffs that hurt our friends in the world are wrong. Free Trade Agreements in our hemisphere are logical, constructive and necessary for prosperity in the Americas.
>> SunnStarr Friday, June 26, 2009 5:30 PM

1) The Colombia FTA will not reduce the price of goods purchased from Colombia. When US trade negotiators sat down to negotiate the existing trade deal with Colombia their contempt for the well being of the American people led them to accept a deal where a tariff is applied to US exports to Colombia while imports coming in from Colombia are duty free.
>> n6532l Sunday, June 28, 2009 7:34 PM

2) That contempt for the Americans continues in the proposed new trade agreement. The spin is that it is about American jobs and indeed a bone is thrown to American workers in the form of no more tariffs on our exports. That is near worthless since they have little money to buy from us and, more important, what they do buy from us they can not get elsewhere so lowering the tariff will have little impact.
>> n6532l Sunday, June 28, 2009 7:39 PM

3) Colombian president Uribe did not get the message on how to spin the deal. When he was in Washington to promote the treaty he looked forward to "American investment" in his country. Read that outsourcing. That is what the new treaty is, an agreement to outsource American jobs. Why else would they agree to eliminate their tariffs? American citizens will lose from this deal.
>> n6532l Sunday, June 28, 2009 7:47 PM

4) In 2008 the US had a $1.655 billion trade deficit with Colombia. In the unlikely event the rosy numbers put forth here are realized we will still have a trade deficit. The more likely outcome is that we will have a larger deficit when jobs are outsourced to Colombia and goods once made here are imported from there.
>> n6532l Sunday, June 28, 2009 7:51 PM