Democratic Dealing on Colombia?

Some Democratic leaders have been discussing compromises with Bush Administration officials that could lead to a vote on the FTA with Colombia as well as other pending trade agreements with Peru and Panama this year.

Strengthening labor protections is a central issue in the negotiations. Worker rights supporters believe that any free trade agreement must include at its core enforceable protections for acceptable conditions of work and for core ILO conventions, accompanied by effective measures to ensure full compliance.

(USLEAP and others have begun to approach some leading brands to support such a trade position, arguing it would only be consistent with their stated commitment to protecting worker rights in their supply chains).

Including such language would require a reopening of trade negotiations on pending agreements, which the Administration must formally decide to do before March 31. However, even in the highly unlikely event that the Administration and congressional Republicans were to accept adequate labor conditions, as well as environmental and other measures, Colombia remains a special exception. USLEAP has consistently opposed any free trade agreement with Colombia until significant progress is made on violence against trade unionists and ending impunity.

Negotiations for a FTA with Colombia were completed in 2006 but Congressional opposition forced the Administration to delay a vote on the agreement until after the elections and it was not brought up for a vote in the lame-duck session of Congress at the end of 2006. The agreement represents a big step back from current U.S. trade policy protecting worker rights in the Andean region. Signatories only agree to enforce national labor law rather than move towards international standards while the enforcement mechanism is considerably weakened, replacing trade sanctions with fines that are then returned to the government to improve enforcement.