By sending the Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to Congress, President Bush has ignored the egregious human rights violations in Colombia.  Since the 1980’s, more than 2,500 workers have been assassinated in Colombia for joining, forming, or leading labor unions.  In fact, more unionists are killed in Colombia each year than the rest of the world combined, many at the hands of country paramilitaries.

We should not be engaging in free trade policies with a nation whose human rights record is so abysmal.  U.S. trade policy should promote democracy based on the protection of fundamental human rights, not add to the violent intersections of commerce and conflict.  As a member of the House Trade Working Group, I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure this agreement is defeated.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 3:34 pm and is filed under Politics, Economy/Budget, Foreign Policy .