The Colombia Free Trade Deal Posted by James Lamond

At the debate Wednesday night there was a back and forth about a free trade agreement with Colombia, which McCain went after Obama for not supporting.  Just in case anyone missed this exchange or was curious about the situation, here are some details.  Obama's reluctance towards the agreement is largely based on human rights and a lack of rule of law- especially in protecting trade unionists.  A report from Human Rights Watch was released just yesterday advocating a similar approach to the one put forth by Sen. Obama.

The exchange:

MCCAIN: . . .But let me give you another example of a free trade agreement that Senator Obama opposes. Right now, because of previous agreements, some made by President Clinton, the goods and products that we send to Colombia, which is our largest agricultural importer of our products, is -- there's a billion dollars that we -- our businesses have paid so far in order to get our goods in there.

Because of previous agreements, their goods and products come into our country for free. So Senator Obama, who has never traveled south of our border, opposes the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. The same country that's helping us try to stop the flow of drugs into our country that's killing young Americans.

And also the country that just freed three Americans that will help us create jobs in America because they will be a market for our goods and products without having to pay -- without us having to pay the billions of dollars -- the billion dollars and more that we've already paid.
Free trade with Colombia is something that's a no-brainer. But maybe you ought to travel down there and visit them and maybe you could understand it a lot better.

OBAMA: Let me respond. Actually, I understand it pretty well. The history in Colombia right now is that labor leaders have been targeted for assassination on a fairly consistent basis and there have not been prosecutions.

And what I have said, because the free trade -- the trade agreement itself does have labor and environmental protections, but we have to stand for human rights and we have to make sure that violence isn't being perpetrated against workers who are just trying to organize for their rights, which is why, for example, I supported the Peruvian Free Trade Agreement which was a well-structured agreement.

But I think that the important point is we've got to have a president who understands the benefits of free trade but also is going to enforce unfair trade agreements and is going to stand up to other countries.

The HRW report reads, "Unfortunately, the administration of President Álvaro Uribe is squandering much of the opportunity to truly dismantle paramilitaries’ mafias. While there has been progress in some areas, some of the administration’s actions are undermining the investigations that have the best chance of making a difference.

Of greatest concern, the Uribe administration has:

• Repeatedly launched public personal attacks on the Supreme Court and its members in what increasingly looks like a concerted campaign to smear and discredit the Court.
• Opposed and effectively blocked meaningful efforts to reform the Congress to eliminate paramilitary influence.
• Proposed constitutional reforms that would remove the “parapolitics” investigations from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

If the Uribe administration continues on this path, it is likely that the enormous efforts made by Colombia’s courts and prosecutors to hold paramilitaries’ accomplices accountable will ultimately fail to break their power. Unless it changes course, Colombia may remain a democracy in a formal sense, but violence, threats, and corruption will continue to be common tools for obtaining and exercizing power in the country."

The HRC report offers concrete steps that the US can take, which are in line with Obama's position: 1) Continue to delay ratification of the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement until Colombia shows concrete and sustained results in reducing impunity for trade unionist killings and dismantling the paramilitary mafias responsible for many of the killings; and 2) Provide increased financial assistance to and publicly express support for Colombia’s institutions of justice in their efforts to investigate paramilitaries’ accomplices.

Read the full HRW report here.

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What a bunch of baloney. The Democrats, including Mr. Obama, do not want free trade, and will use any pretense to prevent advances made by the previous administration. They are willing to subvert the benefits of American foreign policy for their own selfish motives. They are well aware that advances in Columbia will be blunted by their actions. They should be ashamed of their policies. Republicans in Congress should raise this issue repeatedly.

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