[Ip-health] WP editorial on Colombia FTA

[Kaytee Riek]

Pass the Colombian Trade Pact   Published: November 18, 2008 We don't say i=
t all that often, but President Bush is right: Congress should pass the Col=
ombian free-trade agreement now. Mr. Bush signed the deal two years ago. Th=
e Democratic majority in Congress has refused to approve it out of a legiti=
mate concern over the state of human rights in Colombia and less legitimate=
 desires to pander to organized labor or deny Mr. Bush a foreign policy win=
. We believe that the trade pact would be good for America's economy and wo=
rkers. Rejecting it would send a dismal message to allies the world over th=
at the United States is an unreliable partner and, despite all that it prea=
ches, does not really believe in opening markets to trade. There is no more=
 time to waste. If the lame-duck Congress does not approve the trade pact t=
his year, prospects would dim considerably since it would lose the cover of=
 the rule (formerly known as fast track) that provides for an up-or-down, n=
o-amendment vote. Because of trade preferences granted as part of the war o=
n drugs, most Colombian exports already are exempt from United States tarif=
fs. The new agreement would benefit American companies that now have to pay=
 high tariffs on exports to Colombia. It also would strengthen bonds with a=
n important ally in a volatile corner of South America - that also is the m=
ain source of cocaine shipped into this country and where the United States=
 has very few friends these days.In neighboring Venezuela, President Hugo C=
h=E1vez spouts fierce anti-American rhetoric to distract attention from his=
 autocratic policies. Last month, Bolivia expelled the United States ambass=
ador and accused Drug Enforcement Administration agents of conspiring again=
st his government. Ecuador has refused to renew a lease on an airbase used =
by American counternarcotics flights in the coastal city of Manta.We, too, =
have strong concerns about human-rights violations committed by the governm=
ent of President =C1lvaro Uribe. But Democrats opposing the trade pact on t=
hese grounds are ignoring undeniable improvements. Violence has abated cons=
iderably during the Uribe administration as it has taken on the left-wing g=
uerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and right=
-wing paramilitaries. The number of trade unionists killed, a major Democra=
tic concern, is still too high but has dropped sharply. Washington must kee=
p pressing Bogot=E1 to reduce abuses by Colombia's Army, ensure the prosecu=
tion of paramilitary thugs and further rein in violence against union membe=
rs. It has a powerful tool to do that: $600 million a year in mostly milita=
ry and anti-narcotics aid. Failing to approve this trade agreement would do=
 nothing to improve Colombia's human-rights record. Walking away from it no=
w would alienate many people in Colombia and undermine Washington's credibi=
lity.=0D
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