United Chambers of Commerce has been working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to support the Colombia Free Trade Agreement and is encouraging our Congressional Representatives to do the same. Congress is preparing to debate a recently- concluded trade agreement with Colombia. A careful evaluation of the facts reveals that approval of the agreement is overwhelmingly in the interests of Californian workers, farmers, and companies. It’s also squarely in the national security interests of the United States. First, this agreement is all about fair trade. Many people don’t know that the U.S. market is already wide open to imports; in fact, 92 percent of imports from Colombia enter the U.S. market duty-free. But Colombia imposes an average tariff on U.S. manufactured goods of 14 percent, and much higher for agricultural products. For American workers and farmers, that’s just not fair. It’s like starting a basketball game down a dozen points from the tip-off. The pending agreement would put U.S. trade relations with Colombia on a fairer, mutually beneficial footing by eliminating Colombia’s tariffs, most immediately. The trade agreement with Colombia would boost U.S. exports by more than $1 billion in short order. Second, the agreement is a helping hand for one of America’s closest allies in Latin America. In recent years, Colombia has made tremendous progress breaking up narco-trafficking cartels, slashing coca production and eliminating two-thirds of its opium production. Violence in the country is at its lowest level in a generation, and Colombia’s economy grew last year by 7 percent. Colombia’s transformation over the past decade is a triumph of brave and principled Colombians. It is also a bipartisan triumph for the United States, which lent support through an aid program known as Plan Colombia. The trade agreement will give Colombia a chance to build on this progress. Finally, the Colombia trade agreement will allow California to capitalize on its record of success as a major exporter. California exports reached $134.2 billion in 2007, ranking second only to Texas in total exports. These overseas sales support more than 660,000 jobs directly and thousands more indirectly. California has already benefited from the implementation of other free trade agreements in the Latin American region. For instance, exports to Chile have nearly quadrupled since 2004, the year the U.S.-Chile trade accord was implemented. Californian workers and farmers are selling sold $647 million more to Chilean consumers last year than they did before the agreement came into force. These benefits hold true across the country. In 2007, U.S. exports surged to $1.6 trillion, a 69 percent increase over the past decade. Across the country, one in five factory jobs depends on exports, and on America’s farms one in three acres is planted for hungry consumers overseas. Trade is especially important for smaller companies, which account for 97 percent of U.S. exporters. In our state, nearly 50,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises are already exporting, and trade agreements such as the one with Colombia help more of these firms boost their sales. These smaller companies account for 95 percent of all companies that export goods from California, generating nearly half of California’s merchandise exports. Nationally, small companies sell more than $230 billion worth of “Made in America” goods overseas. In the end, American workers, farmers, and companies are quite capable of competing and winning against anyone in the world when markets are open and the playing field is level. Indeed, who isn’t in favor of fair trade? This is a fair trade agreement for California exporters, and our Congressional delegation should support it when it comes up for a vote. Stephen T. Holzer, Esq. is chairman of the board of the United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley & Region; a coalition of 36 business organizations including 24 chambers of commerce who together represent over 21,000 businesses that provide over 387,000 jobs. He can be reached at (818) 981-4491.
