Bush Forced to Vote on Colombia Trade

BUSH FORCED TO VOTE ON COLOMBIA TRADE

Published: April 7, 2008

WASHINGTON — President Bush said on Monday that he was sending a free trade agreement with Colombia to Congress, and called on the lawmakers to ratify it soon, to strengthen America’s national security, its economy and its image among other nations.

“The need for this agreement is too urgent” for delay, Mr. Bush said, adding that to wait any longer in this election year would be to risk that Congress would adjourn without a vote on the pact.

Once it is submitted to Congress — a formality the president said would be taken care of immediately — the legislators have 90 business days to approve or reject it.

The agreement with Colombia, negotiated in 2006, has become a subject of fierce controversy, dividing Republicans from Democrats and Democrats from one another. Supporters of the agreement argue that, by opening new markets in Colombia for American farm goods, machinery, chemicals and plastics, the pact would stimulate the United States economy at a moment in history when the economy sorely needs it.

Opponents say the agreement would accelerate a depressing trend, encouraging American companies to transfer their manufacturing operations to Colombia and adding to the woes of sagging Rust Belt areas in the United States.

President Bush, who has been speaking in favor of the trade agreement for weeks, conceded on Monday that there could be some harmful effects at home, but he said the benefits would far outweigh them. The United States imports grains, cotton and soybeans from Colombia, much of it duty-free under temporary accords already in