[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 14 (Monday, April 14, 2008)]
[Pages 494-496]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement

April 7, 2008

    Thank you. Please be seated. I want to thank the members of my 
Cabinet for joining me here today. Madam Ambassador, thank you for 
coming. I appreciate those who support free trade and fair trade for 
joining us on this important occasion.
    In a few minutes, I will sign a letter to Congress that will 
transmit legislation implementing the United States free trade agreement 
with Colombia. This agreement will advance America's national security 
interests in a critical region. It will strengthen a courageous ally in 
our hemisphere. It will help America's economy and America's workers at 
a vital time. It deserves bipartisan support from the United States 
Congress.
    During the 16 months since the Colombia free trade agreement was 
signed, my administration has worked closely with the Congress to seek a 
bipartisan path for considering the agreement. We held more than 400 
consultations and meetings and calls. We led trips to Colombia for more 
than 50 Members of the Congress. We've worked closely with congressional 
leaders from both parties, including the Speaker, Leader Hoyer, and 
Chairman Rangel, Minority Leader Boehner, Ranking Member McCrery, and 
Senators Baucus and Grassley.
    On May 10th last year, my administration and congressional leaders 
concluded a bipartisan agreement that provided a clear path for 
advancing free trade agreements, including the agreement with Colombia. 
As part of that agreement, we included the strongest labor and 
environmental provisions of any free trade agreement in history. Those 
provisions were negotiated with and agreed by, by the leadership of 
Congress--like the Democratic leadership in Congress.
    For the last 16 months, we've worked with congressional leaders to 
set a schedule for the consideration of the Colombian free trade 
agreement. While we'll continue to work closely with Congress, 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. By statute, 
Congress has 90 legislative days to complete action once I transmit a 
bill implementing this agreement. Waiting any longer to send up the 
legislation would run the risk of Congress adjourning without the 
agreement ever getting voted on.
    Transmitting the agreement is neither the beginning nor the end of 
our cooperative efforts but, instead, an important milestone. My 
administration is eager to work with members from both parties to make 
sure the vote is a positive one. Congress needs to move forward with the 
Colombian agreement, and they need to approve it as quickly as possible.
    Approving this agreement is urgent for our national security 
reasons. Colombia is one of our strongest allies in the Western 
Hemisphere. They are led by a very strong and courageous leader, 
President Uribe. He's taken courageous stands to defend our shared 
democratic values. He's been a strong and capable partner in fighting 
drugs and crime and terror. And he's delivering results. The Colombian 
Government reports that since 2002, kidnapings, terrorist attacks, and 
murders are all down substantially, as is violence against union 
members.
    Despite this progress, Colombia remains under intense pressure in 
the region. It faces a continuing assault from the terrorist network 
known as FARC, which has seized hostages and murdered innocent folks, 
including Americans, in an attempt to overthrow Colombia's democracy. 
Colombia also faces a hostile and anti-American regime in Venezuela, 
which has met with FARC terrorist leaders and deployed troops to the 
Colombian border as a means of intimidating the Colombian Government and 
its people.
    President Uribe has stood strong against these threats. And he has 
done so with the assurance of America's support, because his fight 
against tyranny and terror is a fight that we share. President Uribe has 
told Members of Congress, as me--and me as well, that approving the free 
trade agreement is the best way for America to demonstrate our support 
for Colombia. People throughout the hemisphere are watching to see what 
the United States will do. 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

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be counted on to support its friends. As Canadian Prime Minister Stephen 
Harper has said, ``If the U.S. turns its back on its friends in 
Colombia, this will set back our cause far more than any Latin American 
dictator could hope to achieve.''
    Approving the free trade agreement will also strengthen our economy. 
Today, almost all of Colombian's exports enter the United States duty 
free, while American products exported to Colombia face tariffs of up to 
35 percent for non-agricultural goods and much higher for many 
agricultural products. In other words, the current situation is one-
sided. Our markets are open to Colombian products, but barriers exist 
that make it harder to sell American products in Colombia. I think it 
makes sense to remedy this situation. I think it makes sense for 
Americans' goods and services to be treated just like Colombia's goods 
and services are treated. And so it's time to level the playing field.
    As soon as it's implemented, the agreement I'm sending Congress will 
eliminate tariffs on more than 80 percent of American exports of 
industrial and consumer goods. Many products in key American sectors, 
such as agriculture and construction equipment, aircraft and auto parts, 
and medical and scientific equipment, will enter Colombia duty free. If 
you're an American farmer, it's in your interest that this agreement get 
passed. After all, farm exports like high-quality beef, cotton, wheat, 
soybeans, and fruit will enter duty free. And in time, this agreement 
will eliminate tariffs on all of America's exports to Colombia.
    Level the playing field for American exporters is especially 
important during this time of economic uncertainty. Last year, exports 
accounted for more than 40 percent of America's total economic growth. 
With the economy slowing recently, we should be doing everything we can 
to open up new opportunities for growth. More than 9,000 American 
companies, most of them small and midsized businesses, export to 
Colombia. Approving this agreement will help them increase their sales 
and grow their businesses and create high-paying jobs.
    The economic effects of expanding trade in goods and services are 
overwhelmingly positive, but trade can also have a negative impact for 
some of our citizens. In those cases, government has a responsibility to 
help workers obtain the skills they need to successfully reenter the 
workforce. My administration is actively engaged in discussions on 
legislation to improve and reauthorize trade adjustment assistance 
program. We're committed to advancing the discussions as quickly as 
possible. I look forward to completing an agreement on trade adjustment 
that draws on many of the good ideas contained in bills introduced in 
the House and the Senate. I look forward to signing a good bipartisan 
piece of legislation.
    In discussions about the Colombia free trade agreement, some Members 
of Congress have raised concerns about the conditions in Colombia. 
President Uribe has addressed those issues. He's addressed violence by 
demobilizing tens of thousands of paramilitary figures and fighters. 
He's addressed attacks on trade unionists by stepping up funding for 
prosecutions, establishing an independent prosecutors unit, and creating 
a special program that protects labor activists. He's made clear that 
the economic benefits the agreement brings to Colombia would strengthen 
the fight against drugs and terror by creating a more hopeful 
alternative for the people of Colombia.
    If this isn't enough to earn America's support, what is? President 
Uribe has done everything asked of him. While Colombia still works to 
improve, the progress is undeniable, and it is worthy of our support.
    There's a clear model for Members of Congress to follow as they move 
forward with this agreement. Just last year, Congress considered a trade 
agreement with Peru that was almost identical to this one. The only 
difference between them is that the Colombian Government has an even 
greater economic potential because Colombia is a larger market and even 
greater national security importance because of Colombia's strategic 
location. Congress passed the Peru agreement with strong bipartisan 
support and should do the same with this agreement with Colombia.
    The stakes are high in South America. By acting at this critical 
moment, we can show a watching world that America will honor its 
commitments. We can provide a powerful rebuke to dictators and 
demagogues in our

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backyard. We can expand U.S. exports and export-related jobs. We can 
show millions across the hemisphere that democracy and free enterprise 
lead to a better life. Congress's path is clear: Members should have a 
healthy debate, hold a timely vote, and send the bill implementing the 
Colombia free trade agreement to my desk so I can sign it into law.
    And now I would like members of my Cabinet who are here today to 
join me for the signing of the letter.

[At this point, the President signed the letter.]

    Thanks for coming.

Note: The President spoke at 11:34 a.m. in Room 450 of the Dwight D. 
Eisenhower Executive Office Building. In his remarks, he referred to 
Colombia's Ambassador to the U.S. Carolina Barco Isakson. The Office of 
the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these 
remarks.