President Bush, surrounded by cabinet members, signs a letter sending the Colombia Free Trade Agreement to Congress.
Is free trade with Colombia in America's interest?
The United States has few friends in Latin America. But Colombia is one of those friends. The U.S. relationship with Colombia reached a perilous crossroads this week when the House of Representatives deferred a vote on a bilateral free trade agreement with the country, just two days after the White House submitted the pact for ratification. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "This isn't about ending anything. It's about having a timetable that respects the aspirations of the American people."
Free trade critics point to weak environmental and labor union protections, along with the risk of outsourcing American jobs, as reasons to oppose free trade pacts. Democratic opponents of the deal also cite Colombia's sketchy human rights record as reason to reject the proposal. But supporters say that free trade ultimately benefits both countries by creating jobs and opening new markets of U.S. goods.
Should Congress pass the trade agreement? Do such agreements strengthen American relations with other countries? Do such deals only enrich a few at the expense of many? Or do free markets and free trade foster freedom generally?
Thoughts
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Free or Fair?
Submitted on April 12th, 2008 by AnonymousFree trade means mixing our economic standards with those of our trading partners without regard for any disparities of currency or living standards. When you mix any two substances you get an average of both as an outcome. Do Americans really want to accept the "average" living standard of the world? We can not come out ahead in any such endeavor in spite of the rhetoric of the industrialist's representatives we call politicians.
This simple math has been hidden from us by the slight of hand of the federal reserve and our national debt. Continuing to finance a standard of living that isn't realistic to our abilities will bode no better for our nation than it has for it's citizens recently. Those touting the wonder of free trade have no respect for borders and no national loyalties to guide their actions and it is left to our leaders to temper their greed with the best interests of America.
That tempering has been blatantly missing from our trade policies and must be reestablished if we hope to retain our place in the marketplace of the world. The emerging economies of China and India will not hesitate to buy into our national myopia if we can't protect our own interests because of our debt and eroding economic base.
Democrats and the end of free trade
Submitted on April 10th, 2008 by Chuck_JohnsonI don't understand this at all.
We already allow Colombian products into the U.S. Why wouldn't we want to allow our products into Colombia?
Don't we want to send a message to the Colombians that they are allies?
Chuck Johnson is a student at Claremont McKenna College. Feel free to contact him.