Lead: " The proposed free-trade agreement with Colombia has stalled in Congress. The success and stability of Colombia and the Pan-American region depend on our ability to recognize the importance of this agreement to the United States, to Colombia's economy, to human rights progress and to enhanced U.S. national security."
McCaffrey tells of the economic and political successes of Colombia over the past decade, as well as of the important efforts they are making in drug control. He concludes:
The negotiations are done, and this historic agreement has been passed by the Colombian legislature. Support for Colombia and the trade agreement is smart foreign policy. Congress has a responsibility to act now.I lived in Colombia for several years, working on a World Health Organization research project. My son was born there. The Colombians were wonderful to us during that time, and I have a warm spot in my heart for the country and its people.
I have watched from a distance as Colombia went through decades of insurgency, crime and violence. It is great to see progress finally being made against these problems.
Free trade is a major emphasis of U.S. policy, and experience has demonstrated its benefits to the parties involved. I see no reason why Colombia should not join in the set of free trade agreements that the United States is putting in place with Latin American nations.
I agree with General McCaffrey. Congress has a responsibility to act now!
2 comments:
http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/2007-11-19/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3820988.html
You might be interested in this article in the Bogota newspaper El Tiempo. I too hope that the USA and Colombia can agree on the trade pact. They should work through any disagreements about environmental and labor concerns......I also recommend the recent book by Paul Collier called The Bottom Billion. Colombia is not one of the very poorest nations. But the civil war the drug trade hurt Colombia, and these are problems that make countries poor. I doubt the guerrilla or drug trafickers are going to just give up their way of life. Colombia needs to grow its way out of these problems. I would argue that the solid economic growth of the last few years is responsible for President Uribe's 70% approval rating, and conversely the low opinion that Colombians have of the guerrilla (and possibly the reason they appear at least a bit more likely to negotiate). This country has so much going for it. Colombians are very talented. They have ample natural resources, and the benefit of being able to orient their trade to both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. In the recent Democratice presidential candidate debate on CNN, Obama said he voted for the Peru trade pact because they got the details of environmental and labor concerns right. There is no reason the same cannot be done with Colombia. And there are many more reasons to help Colombia.
Glenn
Cali, Colombia
Thanks Glenn!
The article is interesting, and I too recommend it to those who can read Spanish. It paints a picture of progress.
One point that it makes is that the insurection in Colombia and the drug problem in the United States are related. The money from drugs supports the insurgents and drug lords.
U.S. foreign assistance has helped the government of Colombia to fight the drug trafficers, but it is becoming harder to fund that assistance. Opening the trade between the two countries should help Colombia to grow economically, and thereby help the Government of Colombia to get the resources it needs to continue and expand the fight.
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