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The dramatic rescue of three U.S. hostages held by a Colombian rebel group is unlikely to win a House vote on a controversial free trade agreement blocked by Democrats. A Democratic aide said that despite the rescue, Colombia still has not achieved satisfactory results in violence against union organizers. In addition, the aide said, Democratic leaders are not inclined to move a trade bill, which many Democrats associate with the loss of manufacturing jobs, after a sixth straight months of job losses. The Labor Department on Thursday reported the U.S. economy lost 62,000 jobs in the last month. Supporters of free trade have highlighted the positive impact growing exports have had on the U.S. economy, and President Bush on Thursday urged Congress once again to approve the Colombia deal, along with similar agreements with Panama and South Korea that are also held up. Labor unions, pointing to murdered labor organizers, have drawn a line in the sand on the Colombia deal. Statements on Wednesday from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) welcomed news of the rescue of three U.S. military contractors and former Colombia presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. But the statements said nothing about the free trade agreement. The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office (USTR) e-mailed reporters news of the hostage rescue on Wednesday, and a USTR spokesman on Thursday said it was another example of the efforts the Colombian government under President Alvaro Uribe has made to eradicate violence. At the same time, spokesman Sean Spicer said the best arguments for approving the FTA are economic. He repeated the administration’s argument that most Colombian exports already receive duty-free treatment to the U.S. market, and so approving the trade deal would provide equal footing to U.S. exporters. An official from Colombia’s government said the rescue could bolster efforts on the trade deal, but drew a more direct link to Colombia’s efforts to win funding from Congress for Plan Colombia, the anti-drug effort funded by the U.S. government. Colombia’s military was behind the rescue and it also handles Plan Colombia. FARC rebels increasingly have turned to cocaine production over the last decade to fuel their efforts against the government. Mike Soraghan contributed to this report. |
