If approved by Congress, it would open a new market for American
produce and manufactured goods. Unlike other trade deals, it would not
threaten American jobs, because imports from Colombia are already
coming in nearly duty-free.
And it would have the added benefit of shoring up a respected ally, President Álvaro Uribe,
who has made progress in taming the narcotics traffickers, right-wing
death squads and left-wing guerrillas that had almost made Colombia a
failed state.
In recent months, nearly 100 newspapers in the United States have
endorsed the Colombia trade agreement. So have many top Democrats,
including Mayor Richard M. Daley
of Chicago. And Mr. Uribe, who was already popular in Congress, was
widely lionized after the dramatic rescue of hostages in Colombia on
July 2.
To reiterate: Columbian goods coming to America are already basically tariff free. This deal would help America exports to Columbia enjoy the same privelege. It would reward our most important ally in South America where Chavez, Morales, et al. are pushing an anti-U.S. agenda.
The opposition basically boils down to a complaint about anti-labor violence in Columbia. President Uribe has actually fought to radically decrease this violence, and been very successful. But facts don't matter when you can just repeat that President Bush is a unilateralist who doesn't respect our allies. That doesn't require any critical thinking at all.
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