Colombia still trying to get Congress to pass free trade agreement - This is no way to treat an ally
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is in Washington asking Congress to approve a pending free-trade deal with his country.
The request comes as Congress prepares to end its session, and the United States is distracted by a financial crisis and a presidential election campaign in which free trade is a delicate issue.
“We have hope that at any moment we can have the approval in the United States Congress of our free-trade agreement,” Mr. Uribe said Friday during a speech at the Brookings Institution. Later, speaking at the National Press Club, he said a job-generating free-trade deal with Washington would itself be a partial corrective to Colombia’s violent drug trade.
“The sooner we get approval, the sooner we get investment,” he said. “And investment is the best alternative to illegal drugs.”
President Bush submitted the agreement to Congress in April, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indefinitely delayed action on the pact over what she said were human rights concerns.
…On Wednesday, speaking to reporters in Washington, Colombia’s trade minister, Luis Plata, pointed out that his government has reduced violence, increased protections for union leaders, boosted judicial capacity and spurred economic growth by signing several trade deals with Canada and European nations.
“We are often reminded by the U.S. that we are its most important ally in the region,” Mr. Plata, said. “So if other countries like Mexico and Peru can have free-trade deals, why can’t we?”