Colombia Free Trade Agreement

Floor Speech

passage of a free trade agreement with Colombia. Colombia is America's fourth-largest trading partner in Latin America, and the U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that 9,000 American companies trade with Colombia, most of which are small businesses and many of which operate in my district in south Florida.

While 90 percent of Colombian goods enter the U.S. duty free, American
companies still pay tariffs for U.S. goods to enter Colombia. The Colombia Free Trade Agreement would eliminate obstacles and immediately boost U.S. exports to Colombia. By passing a free trade agreement with Colombia, U.S. GDP would increase by roughly $2.5 billion and exports by over $1 billion, creating thousands of jobs in the United States. The Colombia Free Trade Agreement is also a positive foreign policy gesture to one of our most reliable allies in the region and the oldest continuously functioning democracy in all of South America.

Madam Speaker, it's time to stand with one of our best allies in Latin America and create thousands of jobs here at home with passage of a Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

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