Transcripts

The Colombia Free Trade Conflict

PAUL KANGAS: The clock has started ticking to pass a free trade agreement with Colombia. President Bush is sending that legislation to Congress. As Stephanie Dhue reports, it sets the stage for a fight between a president who wants a deal done before his term is over and a Democratic Congress that doesn't want it done at all.

STEPHANIE DHUE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: With the stroke of his pen, President Bush unleashed a political battle over passing the Colombia free trade agreement. The president urged Congress to OK the deal for both economic and national security reasons.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If Congress fails to approve this agreement, it would not only abandon a brave ally, it would send a signal throughout the region that America cannot be counted on to support its friends.

DHUE: Many American businesses support the agreement, since it would reduce tariffs on U.S. exports to Colombia. Right now, U.S.-made goods entering Colombia face an average tariff of 14 percent, but almost all Colombian goods coming here have no tariffs. But many Democrats oppose the agreement, saying it would reward a government that has condoned anti-union violence and human rights abuses. Fred Redmond oversees human rights issues for the United Steelworkers Union.

FRED REDMOND, INTERNATIONAL VP HUMAN AFFAIRS, UNITED STEELWORKERS: This is a government where just in March, we've seen four trade unionists killed in a four-day period. A total of 2,500 trade unionists have been killed for exercising their rights and speaking out on behalf of a free and independent trade union movement since 1986.

DHUE: Free trade agreements, especially NAFTA, have come under fire in the presidential campaign. While Republican John McCain supports the Colombia deal, both Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton oppose it. There's an additional problem for Clinton. Just this weekend, her chief political strategist, Mark Penn, was forced out after it was disclosed he met with Colombian government officials in his role as CEO of a public relations firm to lobby for the trade pact. Political analyst Stuart Rothenberg says the episode doesn't help the agreement's prospects on Capitol Hill.

STUART ROTHENBERG, THE ROTHENBERG REPORT: There was a time when Mark Penn had a cache of goodwill among some Democrats. I think at the moment he's not somebody that anybody wants to sidle close to and he probably doesn't have a lot of sway on the Hill.

DHUE: Congress now has 90 legislative days to vote on the free trade pact, but key Senate Democrats have already declared it dead on arrival. Stephanie Dhue, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Washington.