Guest Opinion: Washington fails again with Columbian free trade

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

By Mark Gordon

What is wrong in Washington is that every time a difficult challenge comes up, Congress vibrates and nothing happens. This time it is the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement that triggered the avoidance reflex. Congressional action on this agreement is now on a shelf along with immigration reform, energy policy and so much else. And for what? Politics!

After President Bush sent the Colombia Trade Agreement to the House, Speaker Pelosi proposed changing Trade Promotion Authority rules by removing the 90-day timeline for mandatory consideration of the trade pact. The House quickly voted 224-194 to pass the proposal, which removed any timeframe for consideration of this agreement.

The Colombian Trade Promotion Agreement has its flaws to be sure, but it also has its strong points. It would go a ways towards remedying the one-way free trade we now have between Colombia and the United States. Currently, more than 90 percent of Colombian produce and products come into the United States tariff-free under a series of established agreements originally intended to bolster Colombia’s economy and combat both incipient terrorism and the drug trade. Progress has been made on these two fronts. But, here is the rub: anything of US origin, from fruit to grain to heavy machinery, pays a hefty duty in Colombia. The Colombian Free Trade Agreement addresses that disparity with our fourth largest trading partner in Latin America.

This new trade agreement was negotiated by both parties over 24 months and would offer relief for important Wyoming products like “high-quality” beef. Yet, there are problems. This agreement potentially allows beef to come into the U.S. market free from many of our health and safety standards. To a degree, it also opens a gateway allowing non-Colombian beef to enter our food supply, raising alarms for consumers if we remember China and its tainted products last year. These are certainly significant drawbacks, but some of these concerns can be mitigated by making sure consumers are informed through programs such as mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL).

It is difficult to negotiate trade deals because the United States has a culture and a system of product safety, environmental regulation and labor support, and we do not want to undercut our nation’s laws or opportunities. Worries about abrogating human rights, environmental standards and the like have been bugaboos for almost every trade agreement including NAFTA, this time they are the stuff of politics.

Free and open markets are important for prosperity and the general trend towards freer markets has raised the standard of living for many the world over. All of these issues are important and we expect our government to consider them when it invests the time it has in an agreement like the CFTPA. Having Congress table everything controversial that comes its way is just wasteful. It is even worse when the real reason for the delay is so that politicians can avoid making a tough decision before the election. When posturing replaces engagement no one’s interests are well served.

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Guest Opinion: Washington fails again with Columbian free trade | Planet JH News Article: General Politics

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