[House Document 110-103]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
110th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 110-103
THE UNITED STATES-COLOMBIA TRADE PROMOTION AGREEMENT
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MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
CONSISTENT WITH THE TRADE ACT OF 2002, LEGISLATION AND SUPPORTING
DOCUMENTS TO IMPLEMENT THE UNITED STATES-COLOMBIA TRADE PROMOTION
AGREEMENT
Volume 1 of 2
April 8, 2008.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means and ordered to be printed
THE UNITED STATES-COLOMBIA TRADE PROMOTION AGREEMENT
110th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 110-
103
THE UNITED STATES-COLOMBIA TRADE PROMOTION AGREEMENT
__________
MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
CONSISTENT WITH THE TRADE ACT OF 2002, LEGISLATION AND SUPPORTING
DOCUMENTS TO IMPLEMENT THE UNITED STATES-COLOMBIA TRADE PROMOTION
AGREEMENT
Volume 1 of 2
April 8, 2008.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means and ordered to be printed
To the Congress of the United States:
I am pleased to transmit legislation and supporting
documents to implement the United States-Colombia Trade
Promotion Agreement (the ``Agreement''). The Agreement
represents an historic development in our relations with
Colombia, which has shown its commitment to advancing
democracy, protecting human rights, and promoting economic
opportunity. Colombia's importance as a steadfast strategic
partner of the United States was recognized by President
Clinton's support for an appropriation in 2000 to provide
funding for Plan Colombia, and my Administration has continued
to stand with Colombia as it confronts violence, terror, and
drug traffickers.
This Agreement will increase opportunity for the people of
Colombia through sustained economic growth and is therefore
vital to ensuring that Colombia continues on its trajectory of
positive change. Under the leadership of President Alvaro
Uribe, Colombia has made a remarkable turnaround since 1999
when it was on the verge of being a failed state. This progress
is in part explained by Colombia's success in demobilizing tens
of thousands of paramilitary fighters. The Colombian government
reports that since 2002, kidnappings, terrorist attacks, and
murders are all down substantially, as is violence against
union members.
The Government of Colombia, with the assistance of the
United States, is continuing its efforts to further reduce the
level of violence in Colombia and to ensure that those
responsible for violence are quickly brought to justice. To
speed prosecutions of those responsible for violent crimes, the
Prosecutor General's Office plans to hire this year 72 new
prosecutors and more than 110 investigators into the Human
Rights Unit. These additions are part of the increase of more
than 2,100 staff that will be added to the Prosecutor General's
Office in 2008 and 2009. To support these additional personnel
and their activities, Colombia has steadily increased the
budget for the Prosecutor General's Office, including by more
than $40 million this year, bringing the total outlay for that
office to nearly $600 million.
In negotiating this Agreement, my Administration was guided
by the objectives set out by the Congress in the Trade Act of
2002. My Administration has complied fully with the letter and
spirit of Trade Promotion Authority--from preparation for the
negotiations, to consultations with the Congress throughout the
talks, to the content of the Agreement itself. In addition, my
Administration has conducted several hundred further
consultations, led congressional trips to Colombia, and last
year renegotiated key labor, environmental, investment, and
intellectual property rights provisions in the Agreement at the
behest of the Congress. By providing for the effective
enforcement of labor and environmental laws, combined with
strong remedies for noncompliance, the Agreement will
contribute to improved worker rights and higher levels of
environmental protection in Colombia. The result is an
Agreement that all of us can be proud of and that will create
significant new opportunities for American workers, farmers,
ranchers, businesses, and consumers by opening the Colombian
market and eliminating barriers to U.S. goods, services, and
investment.
Under the Agreement, tariffs on over 80 percent of U.S.
industrial and consumer goods exported to Colombia will be
eliminated immediately, with tariffs on the remaining goods
eliminated within 10 years. The Agreement will allow 52 percent
of U.S. agricultural exports, by value, to enter Colombia duty-
free immediately, with the remaining agricultural tariffs
phased out over time. This will help to level the playing
field, as 91 percent of U.S. imports from Colombia already
enjoy duty-free access to our market under U.S. trade
preference programs.
My Administration looks forward to continuing to work with
the Congress on a bipartisan path forward to secure approval of
this legislation that builds on the positive spirit of the May
10, 2007, agreement on trade between the Administration and the
House and Senate leadership, and the strong bipartisan support
demonstrated by both Houses of Congress in overwhelmingly
approving the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement last
year. The United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement
represents an historic step forward in U.S. relations with a
key friend and ally in Latin America. Congressional approval of
legislation to implement the Agreement is in our national
interest, and I urge the Congress to act favorably on this
legislation as quickly as possible.
George W. Bush.
The White House, April 7, 2008.
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TAB 1: UNITED STATES-COLOMBIA TRADE PROMOTION AGREEMENT
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Tab 2: Draft of an Implementing Bill Described in Section 2103(b)(3) of
the Act
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Tab 3: Statement of Administrative Action
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TAB 4: STATEMENT OF HOW THE UNITED STATES-COLOMBIA TRADE PROMOTION
AGREEMENT MAKES PROGRESS IN ACHIEVING U.S. PURPOSES, POLICIES,
OBJECTIVES, AND PRIORITIES
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TAB 5: STATEMENT OF WHY THE UNITED STATES-COLOMBIA TRADE PROMOTION
AGREEMENT IS IN THE INTERESTS OF U.S. COMMERCE
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Tab 6: Summary of the Agreement
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Tab 7: Letters of Correspondence
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