Columbia Free Trade Resolution Defeated, Again

July 24, 2008 - Support for the deeply flawed U.S.-Columbia Free Trade Agreement continues to diminish, with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) yesterday squashing a resolution that called for the NCSL to support the so-called free trade pact.

Proponents of the Columbia FTA failed to even muster support for a roll call vote during the NCSL’s Legislative Summit in New Orleans due to overwhelming opposition. NCSL is the bipartisan organization serving the legislatures and staff of the states, commonwealths and territories.
The U.S. House voted in April to take the U.S. Columbia Free Trade Agreement out of “Fast Track” status, postponing a vote on the trade agreement indefinitely.

Meanwhile, Columbia continues to be the most dangerous place on earth for union representatives with more than 30 union leaders killed this year – a rate of roughly one a week. The pace of assassinations surpasses last year’s carnage, when 39 unionists were murdered, eleven were victims of attempted murder and 224 received death threats. More than 2,500 trade unionists have been murdered in Columbia since 1986, including over 450 during the administration of current president Alvaro Uribi.