Pubdate: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 Source: Miami Herald (FL) Copyright: 2007 The Miami Herald Contact: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/262 Author: Brigitte Schmidt Gwyn Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1361/a01.html WE NEED COLOMBIA TRADE DEAL Gen. Barry McCaffrey offers an excellent primer on Colombia's recent economic and political reforms and why the United States must pass the U.S.-Colombia free-trade agreement stalled in Washington (Congress should OK trade deal, Issues & Ideas, Nov. 25). By promptly passing the trade agreement, Congress will help cement these reforms and send the unmistakable signal to other Latin American nations that Washington takes seriously economic and democratic liberalization. The economic reasons for passage are as compelling as the national-security arguments that McCaffrey outlined. Colombia is developing into a regional economic power, and it is the second-largest Latin American market for U.S. agriculture exports. Between 2001 and 2006, U.S. exports to Colombia grew 86 percent. In Florida, the impact is immense. Colombia was Florida's fifth-largest export market for goods in 2006 with exports totaling almost $1.6 billion. As Colombian barriers to our exports fall away with passage of the trade agreement, this number will continue to rise. The evidence demonstrates that exports equal jobs. Research conducted by Business Roundtable shows that in Florida alone almost 1.8 million jobs -- 18.4 percent of all jobs -- are tied to exports and imports. As recently as 1992, before a spike in trade agreements, only 10.9 percent of jobs were tied to trade. Nationally, 31 million U.S. jobs - -- one in five -- are tied to the international marketplace. The Colombia trade agreement makes sense for our national security and Florida's economic well-being. Brigitte Schmidt Gwyn, Director, International Trade And Fiscal Policy, Business Roundtable, Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek