WASHINGTON DC- Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, delivered the following opening statement today at a Subcommittee hearing on the pending trade agreement with Colombia.
“I have to admit I was disappointed when I heard about this hearing. I’d hoped this would be the mock mark-up of the Korea Free Trade Agreement. That agreement is done. The Korea FTA creates incredible new export opportunities for American goods and services. It has the support of business. It has the support of labor. Democrats and Republicans support it. And the Administration says it’s ready to submit the implementing legislation. No obstacles remain.
“We should be moving the Korea FTA. Now. But, for whatever reason, House and Senate Republicans have decided that we can’t do anything on trade until the Colombia FTA is ready. To heck with jobs, to heck with American families.
“I don’t get it.
“For years, Republicans have cried that not passing the Korea FTA puts American workers and businesses at risk of falling behind their European competitors. In a September 2009 letter, Republican Leadership argued that unless we approve the U.S.-Korea FTA before the EU-Korea pact goes into effect:
U.S. workers could lose $1.1 billion in exports to South Korea ….… injur[ing] industries vital to the U.S. economy, including the machinery, auto parts, chemicals, plastics, food, meat and dairy sectors.
“Well, the Obama Administration fixed the Korea FTA. And the EU-Korea FTA goes into effect on July 1st. So why is the Korea FTA now being held up? Why aren’t we working on the Korea FTA implementing legislation today?
“No one is saying we should forget about the Colombia FTA. Just the opposite. Colombia has been a strong, critical ally and this agreement will strengthen the U.S - Colombia relationship even further.
“But it makes no sense to hold up the Korea FTA while the concerns on the Colombia FTA are being addressed - badly needed fixes that the Administration is working on now. And we have a partner in this process - President Santos who, unlike his predecessor - wants to work with us.
“In terms of what needs to be done on Colombia, here are some specifics.
“In Colombia, basic human rights are a big problem. Workers and labor leaders are killed every year by the dozen-the rampage goes on year after year, and there’s no justice. Between 2005 and 2009 there were more union workers murdered in Colombia than in the rest of the world combined.
“And workers who are not killed are intimidated to prevent them from exercising basic human rights to organize.
“Let me give a real world example - take the Colombian flower sector. This is an export sector - 79 percent of Colombian flowers come to the U.S. And almost all the workers are women; many are single moms.
“When flower sector unions have attempted to assert their rights, they’ve been met with threats and violence. For instance, late last year, workers at the Guacari Plantation struck over unpaid wages and benefits. The company brought in thugs who beat the workers and intimidated them into resigning. Then the company replaced them with temporary workers. Not one of these thugs was arrested.
“The Republicans are obsessed with the Colombia FTA, but none of them would volunteer their wives or daughters to go to work for a Colombian flower company.
“And even if workers survive the violence, they still can’t exercise the basic right to organize because of loopholes in Colombian labor laws. One example is the use of cooperatives -which are shell entities employers use to hire workers precisely so the workers cannot form a union. And use of cooperatives is rampant in export sectors like the ports, the sugar cane industry, and the flower sector.
“For workers that can form a union, employers use another loophole - known as collective pacts - to effectively break the union. If there is the political will, Colombia can address these issues in months not years. They can change their laws to prevent union busting. They can implement a work plan to significantly increase the size of its labor inspection force, train the inspectors, and improve enforcement. Colombia can make concrete measurable progress on investigating and prosecuting violence against union workers.
“Until Columbia makes concrete progress the rest of the trade agenda-trade that will get American families the jobs they desperately need - should move forward. So let’s move the Korea FTA-it’s 10 times more valuable to the American economy than the Colombia FTA. Let’s move the MTB-it’s worth 2.5 Colombia FTAs. Let’s move on China Currency-fixing that is worth 100 Colombia FTAs. And let’s renew our expired preference programs, GSP and ATPA. And let’s move TAA. There was broad bipartisan support for all of these initiatives in the last Congress. What happened?
“My fear is that this isn’t really about trade at all. My fear is that the Republicans have taken the whole trade agenda hostage and the millions of jobs that come with it purely for politics-they want the Obama Administration to fail, no matter what the cost.
“On Monday, Senate Republicans announced they are blocking the nomination of the new Commerce Secretary and any other “trade-related nominees" until the Colombia FTA is passed. This is absurd.
“It’s time for the Republicans to end their Colombia obsession and, for the first time since they took over the House 11 weeks ago, get to work creating jobs for the American people - starting with the Korea FTA.
“So Chairman Brady, the administration is ready to send up the Korea FTA implementing legislation-so when is the Committee going to schedule the mock mark-up of the Korea FTA"?
