    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [April 7, 2008]
    [Pages 485-487]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Congress Transmitting Proposed Legislation To Implement
    the United States-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
    April 7, 2008

    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

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    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.

    Note: This message was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    April 8.

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