Colombia's Plata Says Rejecting Trade Accord Same as Sanctions

By Mark Drajem and Joshua Goodman

April 11 (Bloomberg) -- Colombia's trade minister said rejection of a free-trade accord by the U.S. Congress would be tantamount to imposing ``trade sanctions'' on one of America's staunchest allies.

``Not having a trade agreement is almost like having trade sanctions imposed in the sense that you've been downgraded, or are at least now one level below the other comparable economies in the continent'' that do have trade deals, such as Mexico, Chile, Peru and Central America, Trade Minister Luis Guillermo Plata said in an interview.

In an unprecedented move, lawmakers voted 224-195 yesterday to deny President George W. Bush's request that Congress vote on the pact within 90 days, upending over 30 years of trade consensus between the U.S. executive and legislative branches. Eliminating the deadline allows Democrats to postpone a decision on the agreement until after the November elections.

It is the first time Congress hasn't taken up -- and passed -- a trade agreement submitted by a president.

The delay ``is a calamity for the world trading system,'' said Fred Bergsten, the director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. ``This undermines the whole basis of international confidence in the U.S. as a trading partner.''

The Bush administration and Republicans said the delay is a snub to Colombia, a U.S. ally, and will embolden Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is seeking to rally anti-American sentiment in Latin America.

`Severed a Bond'

``The House has severed a bond of trust between the executive branch and the Congress, and with our trading partners, that has served our nation well for decades,'' Bush said yesterday in a statement from his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said the vote gives Democrats ``leverage'' as talks on trade continue. Bush submitted the legislation because he thought he ``had all the cards,'' Pelosi told reporters after the vote. ``We've just won the vote. Now we can talk.''

Pelosi is responding to frustration by Democrats who say Bush sent up the legislation without their consent. The vote was mostly along party lines, with only 10 Democrats breaking with Pelosi to vote against the measure.

`Violated Protocol'

``The president has violated protocol,'' House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel said before the vote. Rangel worked with the White House to shepherd a similar accord with Peru through Congress last year.

Democrats said that they don't want to kill the accord, only postpone its consideration while Colombia works to reduce violence against labor organizers and Bush agrees to their measures to boost the U.S. economy.

U.S. unions say their counterparts in Colombia are subject to an unacceptable level of violence.

So far this year, 17 union organizers have been killed in Colombia compared with 26 for all of last year. Such killings reached a peak of 196 in 2002, according to the Colombian government. More union organizers are killed in Colombia than any other nation, according to the AFL-CIO.

``Colombia needs years, not months, to ensure the eradication of union killings and impunity that have plagued that country for decades,'' Anna Burger, the head of the labor federation Change to Win said in a statement after the vote. The group's seven unions represent 6 million workers.

Making Progress

Carolina Barco Isakson, Colombia's ambassador to the U.S., said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that the country was making ``progress'' on reducing violence against labor groups.

``Colombia is a good movie but it may be a bad snapshot if you get it at a bad moment,'' she said.

The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates approval of the agreement would increase trade between the two nations by 10 percent. Colombia's biggest exports to the U.S., its No. 1 market, include oil, coffee, fruit and clothing. The U.S. sends airplanes, automobiles, corn and factory equipment to Colombia.

Colombia already enjoys duty-free entry for almost all of the products it sends to the U.S., and U.S. trade with Colombia was $18 billion last year, less than three weeks of American trade with China.

Fast-Track

Under the rules of so-called fast-track authority, the House of Representatives had 60 legislative days to hold a vote on the deal and the Senate 30 days beyond that. The rules say neither body can amend the agreement, a requirement that reassures trading partners that the accords they sign with a president aren't rewritten in Congress.

Yet, the rules specifically give the House the ability to amend those time restrictions, and lawmakers did yesterday for the first time since fast track was implemented in 1974.

The delay may also undermine efforts to approve pending trade agreements with South Korea and Panama, Republicans and trade experts said.

``Behind the scenes people are looking at us and wondering what we are doing,'' said Eric Farnsworth, a former Clinton administration official who is a vice president at the pro-trade Council of the Americas. ``The concern is palpable, especially among countries that are pursuing democracy and open markets.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Mark Drajem in Washington at mdrajem@bloomberg.net; Joshua Goodman in Bogota at Jgoodman19@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: April 11, 2008 00:12 EDT

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