[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 251 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 251

 Urging the President to expedite the submission of the United States-
            Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement to Congress.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 4, 2011

 Mr. Schock (for himself, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Mr. Cuellar, and Mr. Meeks) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                           on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Urging the President to expedite the submission of the United States-
            Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement to Congress.

Whereas, on November 22, 2006, the United States and Colombia signed a trade 
        agreement known as the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement;
Whereas following the signing of the initial text and after extensive 
        consultations with Congress that led to a bipartisan agreement, the 
        United States and Colombia agreed to the inclusion of additional 
        provisions;
Whereas the Colombian Legislature ratified the modified Trade Agreement on 
        October 30, 2007, with commitments on labor rights, environment, and 
        additional provisions;
Whereas, on April 6, 2011, the United States and Colombia announced an agreement 
        on outstanding labor issues in Colombia;
Whereas the agreed ``Action Plan Related to Labor Rights'', released on April 7, 
        2011, includes very significant commitments by Colombia regarding its 
        Labor Ministry, Criminal Code reform, cooperatives, temporary service 
        agencies, collective pacts, essential services, the International Labor 
        Organization Office in Colombia, protection programs, criminal justice 
        reform, and a follow-up mechanism that sets forth a timetable for 
        implementation;
Whereas the United States has not yet ratified the Trade Agreement and, in the 
        1,620 days since it was signed, U.S. exporters have paid more than 
        $3,440,000,000 in tariffs that they would not have had to pay had the 
        Trade Agreement been in force;
Whereas United States exports to Colombia reached $12,000,000,000 in 2010;
Whereas Colombia is the second-largest market in South America for United States 
        exports, after only Brazil;
Whereas Colombia is the second-largest market in the Spanish-speaking world for 
        United States exports, after only Mexico;
Whereas two-way trade between the United States and Colombia was valued at 
        $28,000,000,000 in 2010;
Whereas Colombia is the United States third-largest trading partner in Latin 
        America, after Mexico and Brazil;
Whereas over the last 5 years, Colombia has been the largest market for United 
        States agriculture exports in South America and the third-largest market 
        in the Western Hemisphere;
Whereas Colombia has agriculture exports with the United States totaling 
        $4,300,000,000 in only the last five years;
Whereas over the 5-year period from 2004 to 2008, United States agriculture 
        exports to Colombia grew at an average annual rate of 38 percent;
Whereas the Economist Intelligence Unit, an independent source of global market 
        analysis, named Colombia in 2010 as the first of 6 ``CIVETS'' emerging 
        economies with the best growth prospects for this decade;
Whereas expanding and creating new markets through trade agreements, such as the 
        Colombia Trade Agreement, is of vital importance to achieving the 
        President's export goals as stated through the National Export 
        Initiative;
Whereas analysis by the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) 
        estimates that United States exports to Colombia will increase by 
        $1,100,000,000 with the Trade Agreement;
Whereas according to the ITC's analysis, the Trade Agreement will add 
        $2,500,000,000 per year to United States Gross Domestic Product (GDP);
Whereas more than 99 percent of Colombian exports already enter the United 
        States duty-free under the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), although 
        the benefits of ATPA have been interrupted since February 13, 2011;
Whereas the average tariff paid by Colombian exports to the United States in 
        2009 and 2010 was less than one percent;
Whereas the Trade Agreement will reduce the average tariff faced by United 
        States exporters by more than 68 percent, from 11.2 percent in 2009 to 
        3.6 percent immediately upon implementation of the Agreement;
Whereas over 80 percent of United States exports of consumer and industrial 
        products to Colombia will become duty-free immediately upon 
        implementation of the Trade Agreement, with remaining tariffs phased out 
        over 10 years;
Whereas, in contrast to the already advantageous tariffs faced by Colombian 
        exports into the United States, U.S. agriculture exports to Colombia 
        currently face an average tariff of 20 percent;
Whereas, immediately upon implementation of the Trade Agreement, Colombia will 
        give duty-free treatment to U.S. exporters for 78 percent of Colombia's 
        agriculture tariff lines;
Whereas within five years of implementation of the Trade Agreement, nearly 93 
        percent of all of Colombia's agriculture tariff lines will be duty-free 
        for U.S. exporters;
Whereas the Trade Agreement would immediately eliminate Colombia's price-band 
        system, which imposes a variable charge on top of the regular import 
        duties on key agriculture exports such as poultry, pork, dairy, barley, 
        wheat, sorghum, corn, sugar, and rice;
Whereas, under the Trade Agreement, Colombia will lift unscientific BSE-related 
        restrictions on U.S. agricultural exports, and Colombia will recognize 
        the equivalence of the U.S. food safety system for meat, poultry, and 
        processed foods;
Whereas the American Farm Bureau estimates that the increase in United States 
        agriculture exports to Colombia as a result of the Trade Agreement could 
        exceed $690,000,000, more than doubling current United States 
        agriculture exports;
Whereas the ITC estimates that the Trade Agreement will increase U.S. wheat 
        exports to Colombia by 11 percent; other grains by 20 percent; 
        vegetables, fruits, and nuts by 32 percent; beef by 46 percent; dairy by 
        110 percent; and processed rice by 646 percent;
Whereas in 2009, 41 U.S. States exported agriculture products to Colombia;
Whereas the Trade Agreement will provide U.S. service firms with market access, 
        national treatment, and regulatory transparency that exceed that 
        afforded by the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), 
        including by reducing Colombia's barriers in the banking sector by more 
        than half, according to ITC estimates;
Whereas the Trade Agreement will result in an increase in U.S. exports of 
        fabric, yarn, and other textiles to Colombia for use in its apparel 
        industry, according to ITC estimates, and the agreement does not allow 
        the use of third-country fabrics through a trade preference level, so 
        Chinese inputs will not obtain increased access to the U.S. market;
Whereas the United States is losing market share in key Colombian import markets 
        because other major countries whose exporters compete with U.S. 
        exporters have been negotiating and implementing trade agreements with 
        Colombia, while the United States delays ratification of its own pending 
        Trade Agreement;
Whereas, on January 1, 2009, agricultural provisions of Colombia's trade 
        agreement with Argentina, Brazil, and other MERCOSUR countries went into 
        force, giving exporters from those countries a substantial tariff 
        advantage over U.S. exporters;
Whereas, on November 21 2008, Colombia and Canada signed a Trade Agreement, 
        which has been ratified by both countries and approved by Colombia's 
        Constitutional Court, and is expected to go into effect by July 1, 2011, 
        giving Canadian exporters a substantial tariff advantage over U.S. 
        exporters;
Whereas, on March 1, 2010, Colombia and the European Union completed negotiation 
        of a Free Trade Agreement, which is expected to be ratified this year;
Whereas, on December 7, 2009, Colombia and South Korea launched Free Trade 
        Agreement negotiations, which are ongoing;
Whereas, on March 15, 2010, Colombia and Panama launched Free Trade Agreement 
        negotiations, which are ongoing;
Whereas, upon entry into force of the agricultural provisions of the Colombia-
        MERCOSUR trade agreement, United States exports to Colombia of key 
        agricultural products declined 48 percent in 2009 and another 45 percent 
        in 2010;
Whereas the agricultural provisions of the Colombia-MERCOSUR trade agreement 
        reduced the U.S. share of Colombia's import market for key agricultural 
        products from 71 percent to 27 percent in two years;
Whereas the United States lost 44 percentage points of market share (from 71 
        percent to 27 percent) in Colombia;
Whereas Argentina gained nearly exactly the amount of market share, 37 
        percentage points, in Colombia that was lost by the United States, over 
        the same time period;
Whereas United States farmers saw their exports of corn, wheat, and soybeans to 
        Colombia plummet from $1,100,000,000 in 2008 to only $343,000,000 in 
        2010, a decline of 68 percent;
Whereas while U.S. exports to Colombia have plummeted as a result of failure to 
        ratify the Trade Agreement, U.S. exports to Peru have increased 
        dramatically as a result of the United States-Peru Trade Promotion 
        Agreement (PTPA) implementation in 2009;
Whereas between 2008 and 2010, United States exports of corn, wheat, and 
        soybeans to Peru increased by a combined 99 percent because of the 
        implementation of that agreement;
Whereas the United States Department of Agriculture recently released a report 
        showing that the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement has helped 
        make Peru ``the fastest growing market in South America for the United 
        States'';
Whereas in fiscal year 2010, United States agricultural exports to Peru reached 
        $737,000,000, up 258 percent from fiscal year 2006;
Whereas Colombia projects that it will increase its infrastructure spending to 
        more than $125,000,000,000 over the next decade, focused especially on 
        energy, oil and gas, roads, ports, and airports;
Whereas the Trade Agreement will help American exporters and service firms to 
        compete for infrastructure-related exports and service contracts, which 
        produce good jobs for American workers;
Whereas the Chief Executive Officer of Caterpillar, Doug Oberhelman, testified 
        in a Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee hearing on March 30, 2011, that 
        the manufacturer of a construction vehicle can expect to generate sales 
        equivalent to three times the sale value of the vehicle through parts 
        and related purchases during the lifespan of the vehicle;
Whereas five major Colombian cities are in the process of upgrading their mass 
        transit systems;
Whereas Colombia is a promising market for auto exports by United States auto 
        manufacturers, as roads are upgraded and as road systems are expanded;
Whereas the Colombian Government is replacing 285,000 of its vehicles because 
        they have an average of 23 years of service, representing a good 
        opportunity for United States auto manufacturers;
Whereas international flights to and from Colombia have increased 120 percent 
        since 2000, providing opportunities for United States airplane and 
        related manufacturers and service providers;
Whereas Colombia is soliciting private interest in laying a trans-Pacific 
        submarine cable to diversify telecommunications lines with China and 
        other Asian countries, as Asian trade expands;
Whereas broadband access in Colombia increased 46 percent in 2009, but access 
        remains low by international standards, presenting opportunities for 
        U.S. exporters and service providers;
Whereas Colombia currently seeks investment in numerous large-scale energy 
        projects, among them a $1,500,000,000 sale of the government's majority 
        stake in Colombia's third-largest power generator and sale of 2 public-
        sector generation companies, representing one-third of installed thermal 
        capacity and 4 percent of hydropower capacity, for a total of 1,500 
        megawatts; development of a $2,400,000,000 facility that will have 
        installed capacity of 2,400 megawatts, representing 20 percent of 
        Colombia's currently installed capacity; and development of an 
        $810,000,000 facility that will have an installed capacity of 400 
        megawatts;
Whereas Colombia already has the fifth-largest oil reserves in Latin America and 
        is conducting extensive exploration, thanks to significantly increased 
        recent foreign investment, which exceeded $3,000,000,000 in 2010;
Whereas Colombia has natural gas reserves spread over 18 basins and a network of 
        over 2,000 miles of pipeline, providing United States service firms 
        opportunities in exploration, drilling, and pipeline maintenance;
Whereas China has invested over $1,500,000,000 in Colombia's oil sector since 
        2006 because China's oil consumption is projected to double by 2030;
Whereas China also announced this year plans to develop a railroad to compete 
        with the Panama Canal in moving coal and other energy products between 
        the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and from the Colombian interior;
Whereas in his State of the Union Address on January 25, 2011, President Obama 
        said, ``The first step in winning the future is encouraging American 
        innovation . . . We'll invest in biomedical research, information 
        technology, and especially clean energy technology . . . Now, clean 
        energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if 
        businesses know there will be a market for what they're selling . . .'';
Whereas Colombia is a promising market for clean energy technology and other 
        green sector exports from the United States, as well as green sector 
        service providers;
Whereas Colombia ranked fourth in Latin America in total greenfield investment 
        in clean technologies from 2003 through 2008, exceeding $1,200,000,000 
        in investment;
Whereas Colombia maintains blending requirements that ensure significant 
        domestic Colombian demand for biofuel but produces only two-thirds of 
        its needed ethanol and biodiesel supply, which provides both export and 
        investment opportunities for United States firms in the sector;
Whereas hydropower generates two-thirds of Colombia's energy, providing major 
        opportunities for United States exports and service providers in the 
        hydropower sector;
Whereas 6 Colombian states have solar energy potential ranging from 1,200 to 
        over 2,000 kwh per square meter per year;
Whereas Colombia's wind sector is growing but is dominated by Spanish exporters, 
        which benefit from a bilateral investment treaty between Colombia and 
        Spain;
Whereas the International Labor Organization removed Colombia from its labor 
        watch list in 2010, called Colombia's expanded collective bargaining 
        rules ``satisfactory,'' ``recognized all the measures . . . adopt[ed] 
        recently to combat . . . violence against the trade union movement,'' 
        and noted that such violence fell between 2008 and 2009;
Whereas the United Nations cited Colombia's commitment to achieving human rights 
        goals that the United Nations had recommended and took note of 
        contributions of the Constitutional Court, Prosecutor General, and the 
        Ombudsman;
Whereas in response to labor violence improvements, the President of the United 
        Workers Confederation in Colombia has stated, ``Never in the history of 
        Colombia have we achieved something so important'';
Whereas the overall homicide rate in Colombia is now down to 32 for every 
        100,000 people, and the U.S. Department of State reports that, between 
        2002 and 2008, homicides in Colombia fell by 44 percent, kidnappings by 
        88 percent, terrorist attacks by 79 percent, and attacks on the 
        country's infrastructure by 60 percent;
Whereas homicides against union members in Colombia continue to decline 
        dramatically, from 196 cases in 2002 to 33 in 2010--a decline of 83 
        percent--and the homicide rate for union members in Colombia is now 
        lower than for the general population;
Whereas Colombian constitutional reform has shortened by 75 percent since 2004 
        the time it takes to prosecute a homicide case;
Whereas Colombia has established a special program that provides security for 
        over 10,000 people, with about 25 percent of the program's $13,000,000 
        budget in 2010 having been allocated to protecting labor union leaders;
Whereas Colombia has significantly increased funding for its Prosecutor 
        General's office, which has a 2011 budget of over $836,000,000, and 
        added 2,166 professional positions in 2008;
Whereas Colombia is the United States closest ally in South America;
Whereas the United States investment of over $8,000,000,000 in aid through Plan 
        Colombia and the follow-on efforts of the U.S. Southern Command 
        (SOUTHCOM), the United States Agency for International Development, and 
        other agencies have given Colombia hope in the depths of civil strife, 
        and in response to which Colombia has more than matched United States 
        assistance to Colombia, with United States security cooperation funds 
        amounting to less than 5 percent of the Colombian defense budget in 
        2010;
Whereas the Central Intelligence Agency's Crime and Narcotics Center reported 
        that coca cultivation fell 29 percent and cocaine production 39 percent 
        in 2008 in Colombia;
Whereas Colombia's National Narcotics Directorate raided and destroyed 36 
        percent more clandestine drug laboratories in 2008 than in 2007 and 
        interdicted $117,000,000,000 in cocaine from 2002 to May 2009;
Whereas the Drug Enforcement Agency in 2010 reported that the United States 
        price of cocaine rose over 75 percent, while its purity fell over 31 
        percent--demonstrating that efforts in Colombia are making an impact in 
        the United States;
Whereas Colombia has been training militaries and police in counternarcotics and 
        counterinsurgency measures in Afghanistan, Mexico, Haiti, Central 
        America, the Caribbean, Paraguay, and Africa;
Whereas Colombia is Latin America's third-largest provider of energy products to 
        the United States, behind only Mexico and Venezuela, and exported over 
        40 percent of its petroleum production to the United States in 2009;
Whereas according to a March 2010 report by the Department of Energy's Energy 
        Information Administration, Colombia is the world's fourth-largest 
        exporter of coal, and the United States depended on Colombia for 80 
        percent of its coal imports through the first nine months of 2009, 
        though Colombia began exporting substantial amounts of coal in China in 
        2009;
Whereas China has quadrupled its share of the Colombian market in the last ten 
        years to become Colombia's second-largest trading partner;
Whereas forty-three former Democratic Members of Congress, Cabinet Officials, 
        Ambassadors, and other senior officials signed a letter in 2007, 
        stating, ``Latin America is up for grabs. As Democrats, we are deeply 
        concerned . . . [P]ostponing [the Trade Agreement] until conditions are 
        perfect would send an unambiguous signal to our friends and opponents 
        alike that the United States is an unreliable partner without a vision 
        for cooperation in our hemisphere. Colombia would certainly re-evaluate 
        its relationship with the United States . . .'';
Whereas, on April 15, 2008, former Commerce Secretary (and current Chief of 
        Staff to the President) Bill Daley and thirty-four other Democratic 
        Members of Congress, Cabinet Officials, Ambassadors, and other senior 
        officials signed a letter stating the following: ``We, the undersigned, 
        who have served in senior positions in the U.S. government, strongly 
        urge Congress to take up and approve the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade 
        Agreement this year. We believe this Agreement is in both our vital 
        national security and economic interests. We feel that the treaty should 
        be considered as soon as possible and that any obstacles be quickly and 
        amicably resolved.'';
Whereas Admiral James Stavridis, currently Supreme Allied Commander-Europe, 
        speaking in 2008 as then-commander of U.S. Southern Command said, ``As 
        your national security advisor in that region, I will tell you that it 
        is very important that the free trade agreement be passed from a 
        national security perspective. And, I hear that not just from senior 
        people in Colombia, but from my interlocutors in the region. They're 
        watching very closely to see what happens to a nation that stands with 
        the United States for a decade or more'';
Whereas Generals James Hill, Peter Pace, Charles Wilhelm, Barry McCaffrey, and 
        George Joulwan, in 2008 as former commanders of the U.S. Southern 
        Command (1990 to 2004) said, ``This vital agreement will advance U.S. 
        interests in Colombia, a strategically located country that is arguably 
        our closest ally in Latin America . . . [and] advance U.S. security and 
        economic interests by forging a deeper partnership'';
Whereas in March 2009, in a response to a question from Senator Grassley, then 
        Mayor Kirk responded during his confirmation hearings, ``. . . we do 
        agree with you that Colombia provides a great opportunity, and we will 
        work with you to see if we cannot get that advanced sooner rather than 
        later'';
Whereas in April 2009, Ambassador Kirk said, ``We're looking for new solutions 
        to the issues that have dragged on in existing Free Trade Agreements. . 
        . . At the Summit of the Americas, President Obama instructed me to lead 
        a review of the Colombia agreement to deal with outstanding issues 
        there'';
Whereas during the State of the Union on January 27, 2010, President Obama 
        stated that ``the more products we make and sell to other countries, the 
        more jobs we support right here in America'';
Whereas, on January 24, 2011, Ambassador Thomas ``Mack'' McLarty, who served as 
        Chief of Staff to President Clinton, and Nelson Cunningham, a senior 
        official in President Clinton's Administration, said, ``[T]he president 
        should commit to advancing the pending trade agreements with Colombia 
        and Panama right now, instead of leaving them until later as some in his 
        administration would prefer. Why bother taking a half-measure on 
        trade?'';
Whereas, on January 28, 2011, Secretary of State Clinton said about the Trade 
        Agreement, ``We want to pass the Agreement. In order to pass the 
        Agreement, we have to be able to make the case to the Congress, and that 
        is what I am intent upon doing'';
Whereas after meeting with the Colombian Vice President on January 28, 2011, 
        Vice President Biden issued a press release, which stated, ``Vice 
        President Biden expressed the Administration's commitment to work 
        closely with the Government of Colombia and other key stakeholders on 
        the successful conclusion of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. 
        Vice President Biden . . . underscored the Administration's support for 
        key reforms being pursued by President Santos and his Administration'';
Whereas, on February 9, 2011, Ambassador Kirk testified at a House Ways and 
        Means Committee hearing that ``the President has directed me to 
        immediately intensify engagement with Colombia and Panama with the 
        objective of resolving the outstanding issues as soon as possible this 
        year and bringing those agreements to Congress for consideration 
        immediately thereafter'';
Whereas, testifying before the Senate Finance Committee on February 16, 2011, 
        Treasury Secretary Geithner said of the Trade Agreement and our two 
        other pending trade agreements, ``We'd like to pass all of them, 
        alongside trade adjustment assistance, and we want to do it this year . 
        . . They're overwhelmingly in our favor economically, and if we don't do 
        it, what that means is that business just goes to other countries. It 
        just makes no sense as a country. . . . [T]he world is watching to see 
        whether we find a way to rebuild a political consensus in the United 
        States on agreements like these. And our hand, strategically, in Asia 
        and in emerging markets, will be much stronger if we can demonstrate, 
        through these agreements, that we've found a way to rebuild that 
        consensus on trade'';
Whereas, on March 2, 2011, six former U.S. Trade Representatives, two former 
        Ambassadors at Large to Latin America, and eleven former Assistant 
        Secretaries of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, a bipartisan group 
        representing both Republican and Democratic administrations, stated in a 
        letter to the President and leaders of Congress, ``The time to ratify 
        the Colombian and Panamanian FTAs is long overdue. Therefore, we 
        respectfully urge you to agree on a firm deadline for ratifying the 
        Colombian and Panamanian Free Trade Agreements within the first half of 
        2011'';
Whereas Senator Baucus, in a Senate Finance Committee hearing he chaired on 
        March 9, 2011, with Ambassador Kirk as the sole witness, said that ``. . 
        . the time has passed to ratify the Colombian free trade agreement. It's 
        long past. I mentioned in my opening remarks, we're losing market share 
        hand over fist. Hand over fist, we're losing market share . . . . This 
        is a no-brainer, Mr. Ambassador, no-brainer, and I just hope we get this 
        passed quickly'';
Whereas, on March 17, 2011, in testimony before the Trade Subcommittee of the 
        House Ways and Means Committee, Deputy United States Trade 
        Representative Miriam Sapiro said, ``The Colombia FTA holds the prospect 
        of substantial benefits for U.S. workers, businesses, farmers and 
        ranchers. . . . The Obama Administration shares the sense of urgency we 
        have heard from many Members of Congress to advance the Colombia FTA''; 
        and
Whereas in establishing the President's Export Council in July 2010, President 
        Obama stated, ``We also want to deepen and broaden our relations with 
        Panama and Colombia. So we're working to resolve outstanding issues with 
        the free trade agreements with those key partners, and we're focused on 
        submitting them as soon as possible for congressional consideration.'': 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives urges the President to 
expedite the submission of the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion 
Agreement to Congress.
                                 <all>