[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2428]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             ATPA EXTENSION

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, extending the existing Andean Trade 
Preference Act for Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador through 2008 is 
a necessary measure, but one that only goes halfway. It cannot 
substitute for passage of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which is 
of central importance in defending critical U.S. strategic interests in 
the region.
  Colombia has been an indispensable ally in the fight to keep drugs 
off American streets, and it has successfully battled armies of 
narcoterrorists even as it has consolidated its democracy. It is a 
steadfast partner in an increasingly unstable region where enemies of 
the United States and strategic competitors are making rapid advances.
  But the strongest argument for the Colombian Free Trade Agreement is 
that although it would benefit Colombia enormously, it would benefit 
the United States even more. Those opposed to the Colombia FTA do not 
understand that the existing trade preferences give Colombian 
businesses easy access to U.S. markets but do nothing about giving U.S. 
businesses greater access to Colombia's markets.
  Madam Speaker, only the free trade agreement can do that. Let us pass 
it soon.

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