Bush starts clock on Colombia FTA vote

President Bush on Monday sent to Congress legislation to implement the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, forcing a vote on an issue that Democratic leaders had avoided scheduling so far.

The need for this trade agreement is too urgent and the stakes for national security are too high to allow this year to end without a vote.    Congress needs to move forward with the Colombia free trade agreement and approve it as quickly as possible, the White House said in a statement.

Democratic Party leaders suggested the agreement would fail, but the administration sees time dwindling for passage before Congress recesses for the fall campaign season and decided to move forward anyway.

Administration officials say President Uribe of Colombia has revised the agreement since it was signed 16 months ago to add stronger labor and environmental protections.

The agreement would eliminate duties on U.S. goods and services, equalizing trade preference rules that currently allow 92 percent of Colombian products duty-free access to the U.S. market.

Under the trade deal, tariffs on 80 percent of U.S. goods would go to zero immediately, and the rest of the reductions would be phased in. Colombia wants the deal because U.S. trade preference agreements are temporary and must be renewed by Congress. Colombia wants the certainty of access for products as it tries to convince farmers to give up production of illegal drug crops.

According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, the agreement will increase U.S. exports by $1.1 billion while U.S. imports will increase $487 million.

The legislation is being delivered to Congress under the president's Trade Promotion Authority, which expired last summer. The trade pact was negotiated under that authority. Congress has 90 legislative days to take an up or down vote -- no amendments allowed -- on the measure.

Source: American Shipper