[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 3 (Friday, January 7, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H122-H123]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1200
                     COLOMBIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

  (Mr. RIVERA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RIVERA. Madam Speaker, I rise today for the first time to address 
the House and express my strong support for passage of a free trade 
agreement with Colombia. Colombia is America's fourth-largest trading 
partner in Latin America, and the U.S. Department of Commerce estimates 
that 9,000 American companies trade with Colombia, most of which are 
small businesses and many of which operate in my district in south 
Florida.
  While 90 percent of Colombian goods enter the U.S. duty free, 
American

[[Page H123]]

companies still pay tariffs for U.S. goods to enter Colombia. The 
Colombia Free Trade Agreement would eliminate obstacles and immediately 
boost U.S. exports to Colombia. By passing a free trade agreement with 
Colombia, U.S. GDP would increase by roughly $2.5 billion and exports 
by over $1 billion, creating thousands of jobs in the United States. 
The Colombia Free Trade Agreement is also a positive foreign policy 
gesture to one of our most reliable allies in the region and the oldest 
continuously functioning democracy in all of South America.
  Madam Speaker, it's time to stand with one of our best allies in 
Latin America and create thousands of jobs here at home with passage of 
a Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

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