OUR [COLOMBIA] FREE-TRADE CONSENSUS

On the trade front, it is important to understand that, as Under Secretary of Commerce Chris Padilla has said, the United States already has free trade with Colombia -- but it's "one-way free trade." Thanks to the Andean Trade Preferences Act, which Congress passed 16 years ago:

• Colombian exporters pay tariffs on only 8 percent of the goods they send to the United States.
• Meanwhile, U.S. exporters currently pay tariffs -- some as high as 35 percent -- on 97 percent of the products we sell Colombia.

The U.S.-Colombia FTA would level this uneven playing field, eliminating the tariffs on U.S. goods and creating new market access for U.S. service suppliers; and it would do all of this with a major trading partner, says Duberstein and McLarty:

• The U.S. exports more to Colombia than Russia, even though Russia has a population that is three times larger and an economy seven times that of Colombia.
• Under the agreement now before Congress, U.S. exports to Colombia, from cars to chemicals to consumer products, would grow by an estimated $1 billion per year -- a direct benefit to U.S. workers and their families.
• From Colombia's perspective, the FTA would add a welcome dimension of certainty to our trading relationship, encouraging investors to commit to Colombia and help create jobs there.

In addition, the agreement would send an important signal of support to a close neighbor, friend and ally, say Duberstein and McLarty.

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