Colombia Trade Agreement Vote Could Come Soon; Take Action Now

The Administration is expected to soon send to Congress the long-pending Colombia Free Trade Agreement.  In a September speech to a joint session of Congress, President Obama again made clear his support of the controversial agreement, which has been delayed for years due primarily to concerns about violence against trade unionists in Colombia. 

Despite lack of meaningful progress in reducing violence (last year Colombia again led the world in number of trade unionists murdered), the Obama Administration is pressing ahead for approval, citing the Colombian government’s April 2011 agreement to a Labor Action Plan as sufficient.  The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative last week declared again that Colombia has been meeting the steps agreed to the Plan, even as trade unionists continue to be murdered at a rate in 2011 that is likely to again make Colombia the most dangerous country to be a trade unionist.  (See a recent article from the Washington Office on Latin America with a critical review of the Labor Action Plan based on an August trip to Colombia.)

While Republican leaders and the Democratic White House both support the Colombia trade pact, as well as pending trade agreements with Korea and Panama, the sticking point for several months has been a dispute over renewal of a program for U.S. workers who lose their jobs due to trade; Republican leaders in Congress want to dramatically scale back the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program while the Administration has conditioned new trade agreements on its renewal.  Recent news reports indicate that the dispute over TAA may be close to being resolved, with some observers believing that the Administration could then send the trade agreements to Congress within the next two weeks.

USLEAP is supporting a National Call-In Day on September 21 urging members of Congress to oppose the Colombia agreement.  Calls or other forms of communication after September 21 are also useful.  Take action today, or anytime before Congress votes.  The House of Representatives is in recess the week of September 23 and your member is likely to be in the district, providing another opportunity for making your views known.  See sample script from the Latin America Working Group for calling your members of Congress.  Check out the USLEAP Tool Kit on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement for more background information.