Jack Kingston

President Bush has sent the Colombia Free Trade Agreement to Congress.  As we have seen over and over again, free trade agreements are highly beneficial to the health of our Nation’s economy.  According to statistics provided by the Department of Commerce, more than 90% of Colombia’s exports enter the U.S. duty free while less than 10% of U.S. exports are given the same treatment in Colombia. For information on how the agreement would impact Georgia, check out these fact sheets:

• From the International Trade Administration: How the Colombia FTA helps Georgia workers and businesses
• From the Foreign Agriculture Service: How the Colombia FTA helps Georgia farmers

Also here’s a fact sheet from the White House on how the agreement is essential to our national security. 

From the AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on Monday signed a letter sending Congress a controversial free trade agreement with Colombia — a move that will force lawmakers to vote within 90 days.

The agreement, which would tear down trade barriers between the two nations, is heavily opposed by Democrats in Congress.

Democrats contend that Colombia has not done enough to halt violence, protect labor activists and demobilize paramilitary organizations. The president disagrees, saying Colombia has addressed the issues.

“The need for this agreement is too urgent, the stakes for our national security are too high to allow this year to end without a vote,” Bush said.

Bush signed a document to transmit the trade agreement to Congress, but Congress won’t formally receive it until lawmakers return on Tuesday. Bush’s action will force Congress to take up the proposal under a fast-track process that requires votes within 90 days. Officials said Bush is acting now in order to force a vote before Congress leaves in the fall for the campaign season.

“If Congress fails to approve this agreement, it would not only abandon a brave ally, it would send a signal throughout the region that America cannot be counted on to support its friends,” Bush said.

Bush, who has staked out free trade as one of his top legacies, is also hoping to win congressional approval before he leaves office on pending free trade agreements with Panama and South Korea.

Bush’s action was coming one day after Mark Penn quit as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s chief campaign strategist after it was reported that he had met with Colombia’s ambassador to the United States to discuss the free trade agreement, which Clinton opposes.