Originally published April 2008
In his last State of the Union, President Bush highlighted the need for Congress to pass the Colombia, Panama and South Korea free trade agreements (FTAs). With bipartisanship in short supply and a packed political calendar, it may be very challenging for Congress to fulfill his request.
The Bush administration is putting a full court press on Congress for passage of the Colombia FTA. Six Cabinet members have led trips to Colombia over the last three months, taking 50 members of Congress to the country.
The Bush administration hopes to demonstrate the significant improvement of human rights and rule of law in a country that has a violent history. The administration will focus on the geopolitical benefits of having stronger economic ties with Colombia at a time that Venezuela's leader Hugo Chavez role in Latin America is growing. Furthermore, the administration will point to the fact that today more than 90 percent of US imports from Colombia enter the United States duty free while US exporters must pay substantially higher tariffs. Still, there is growing political fear of trade and, because of Democratic Party concerns, the passage of the Colombia FTA remains uncertain.
If Congress passes the Colombia FTA, it will then likely turn its attention to Panama and Korea FTAs. Unfortunately both FTAs have stumbling blocks that must be resolved. The Panama FTA has been slowed down because of the controversy surrounding the election of Pedro Miguel Gonzalez as president of Panamas National Assembly. Gonzalez was indicted by a US grand jury on murder charges in connection with the 1992 killing of a US soldier in Panama. US officials say passage of a FTA with Panama will not happen as long as Gonzalez holds the presidency.
Complicating the Korea FTA, or KORUS FTA, is South Koreas ban on accepting US beef shipments. If the beef issue is resolved, the KORUS FTA will be the most commercially significant bilateral free trade agreement the United States has concluded in 15 years. The KORUS FTA will eliminate tariffs on 94 percent of trade in industrial goods within three years, and more than half of US agriculture exports will enter South Korea duty free immediately.
Clearly, it will be a busy legislative year on the trade front.
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