Last night, after 8 of us had enjoyed a lively book discussion at our house, conversation turned to other matters. Because of an interest in Colombia (Alan buys flowers from the country, Quint's daughter's family are missionaries there, etc.), the talk turned for awhile to the need for the U.S. to pass a new trade treaty with Colombia. The editors at the Tampa Tribune agree and in in this editorial they strongly criticize the mean-spirited and counter-productive politics played by Nancy Pelosi on the issue. Check it out.If members of the U.S. House were allowed to vote on a new trade pact with Colombia, the measure would almost certainly pass. Were the new trade rules allowed to take effect, tariffs on U.S. products shipped to the South American country would fall sharply, which would increase jobs here. So why not vote?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is holding the trade agreement hostage to try to force Republicans to agree to a job-training and welfare package that has nothing to do with buying Colombian coffee or shipping Colombian farmers fertilizer from Florida...
Laws that discourage other countries from buying U.S. products, such as the current high taxes levied on many U.S. goods sold to Colombia, are bad for U.S. businesses and bad for U.S. workers. The wholesale price of many of the U.S. products Colombia buys are increased by a third by tariffs while most Colombian goods enter U.S. ports tax free. That is exactly the kind of unfair trade many Democratic politicians are complaining about.
But House Speaker Pelosi is so determined to leverage concessions from Republicans that she is refusing to allow the up-or-down vote on the trade deal that is required by fast-track trade rules long in place. "Until we pass a legislative package for jobs and economic growth here at home, it will be extremely difficult to approve any trade legislation," Pelosi said in a statement.
That's another way of saying that she refuses to let the market create jobs and growth until Congress tries to do the same thing for favored groups. While Pelosi keeps the trade deal on ice, Colombia is busy buying more things from other countries. Over the past five years, its trade with China is up more than 44.6 percent and trade with Mexico is up 36.6 percent. Trade with the United States is up too, but only 19.3 percent. Almost half of those products come from Florida and Texas.
U.S. trade unions have lobbied against more trade with Colombia until Colombia offers better protection to union workers there. Last year, 26 union members were murdered. Security has greatly improved, says Colombian Ambassador to the United States, Carolina Barco. Of the union members murdered last year, 19 were school teachers. In 2002, eight times as many union members were killed.
Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida says Colombia, with a democratic government and products Americans need, is a natural trading partner. Colombia sells us cut flowers while we ship it flower pots and fertilizer. We buy its coffee and it buys our machines and computers.
Pelosi should let the Colombian trade pact stand or fall on its merits. A vote will tell citizens where their representatives really stand on fair trade.
