[Ip-health] WP editorial on Colombia FTA

[Aaron Boyle]

--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]

FYI- this was a New York Times editorial (not Washington Post).  Any letter=
s to the editor should be directed there.

-Aaron



> To: ip-health@lists.essential.org; healthgap@CRITPATH.org
> From: kaytee.riek@gmail.com
> Subject: [Ip-health] WP editorial on Colombia FTA
> Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:24:48 +0000
>
>
>
> Pass the Colombian Trade Pact   Published: November 18, 2008 We don't say=
 it all that often, but President Bush is right: Congress should pass the C=
olombian free-trade agreement now. Mr. Bush signed the deal two years ago. =
The Democratic majority in Congress has refused to approve it out of a legi=
timate concern over the state of human rights in Colombia and less legitima=
te desires to pander to organized labor or deny Mr. Bush a foreign policy w=
in. We believe that the trade pact would be good for America's economy and =
workers. Rejecting it would send a dismal message to allies the world over =
that the United States is an unreliable partner and, despite all that it pr=
eaches, does not really believe in opening markets to trade. There is no mo=
re time to waste. If the lame-duck Congress does not approve the trade pact=
 this 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,=
 no-amendment vote. Because of trade preferences granted as part of the war=
 on drugs, most Colombian exports already are exempt from United States tar=
iffs. The new agreement would benefit American companies that now have to p=
ay high tariffs on exports to Colombia. It also would strengthen bonds with=
 an important ally in a volatile corner of South America - that also is the=
 main source of cocaine shipped into this country and where the United Stat=
es has very few friends these days.In neighboring Venezuela, President Hugo=
 Ch=E1vez spouts fierce anti-American rhetoric to distract attention from h=
is autocratic policies. Last month, Bolivia expelled the United States amba=
ssador and accused Drug Enforcement Administration agents of conspiring aga=
inst his government. Ecuador has refused to renew a lease on an airbase use=
d by American counternarcotics flights in the coastal city of Manta.We, too=
, have strong concerns about human-rights violations committed by the gover=
nment of President =C1lvaro Uribe. But Democrats opposing the trade pact on=
 these grounds are ignoring undeniable improvements. Violence has abated co=
nsiderably during the Uribe administration as it has taken on the left-wing=
 guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and rig=
ht-wing paramilitaries. The number of trade unionists killed, a major Democ=
ratic concern, is still too high but has dropped sharply. Washington must k=
eep pressing Bogot=E1 to reduce abuses by Colombia's Army, ensure the prose=
cution of paramilitary thugs and further rein in violence against union mem=
bers. It has a powerful tool to do that: $600 million a year in mostly mili=
tary and anti-narcotics aid. Failing to approve this trade agreement would =
do nothing to improve Colombia's human-rights record. Walking away from it =
now would alienate many people in Colombia and undermine Washington's credi=
bility.
>
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