Here’s what I don’t get:
Because of trade preferences granted as part of the war on drugs, most Colombian exports already are exempt from United States tariffs. The new agreement would benefit American companies that now have to pay high tariffs on exports to Colombia.
The Democratic majority congress is still playing politics against Bush, even after the Obama win. US companies would benefit more than the Colombian ones with this pact, and still they don’t want to approve it. US companies need to increase exports as the the economy tanks. Colombia is the third largest country in Latin America(after Brazil and Mexico), thus it’s a big partially untapped market. The war on drugs and terror is at is almost won thanks to the President Alvaro Uribe’s security and economic policies. By saying NO to Colombia, they are saying no to a President with 84% popularity, thus saying no to 84% of the colombian population. President elect Barack Obama wants to change the face of the US in the eyes of the world. Why not start by endorsing a President with 84% approval? This will be easy peasy compared to the gargantuan tasks that awaits in the Middle East!
Colombia is the last South American ally the US has, and still they choose to ignore them because of supposed human rights violations(shit happens when you have rebells inside hurting the civilian population).
The time is now, to build strong alliances and keep Colombia from going left like Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Brazil in the upcoming 2010 Colombian elections.
(Link NYTimes.)
No comments yet.