It isn’t often a nation gets the chance to help itself and a friend at the same time. The U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA) is one of those rare opportunities.

If Congress ratifies this agreement, it will help American producers expand our agricultural exports to Colombia, and it will help Colombia continue the growth it has seen in its legitimate economy since President Alvaro Uribe took office in 2002.

The CTPA is a free trade agreement, so it is important to begin with some straight talk about trade. Current tariffs between the United States and Colombia are one-sided; 99.9 percent of Colombia’s exports already enter the U.S. duty-free. No U.S. agricultural exports to Colombia receive duty-free treatment.

The CTPA will level this playing field. Upon implementation, more than 70 percent of our agricultural products will immediately receive duty-free treatment. Remaining tariffs will disappear over time.

 Colombia is already our fifth largest trading partner in Latin America and the largest export market for our agricultural products in South America. Last year, the value of U.S. agricultural exports to Colombia reached a record $1.2 billion. They included $500 million of yellow corn, $210 million of wheat and barley, $175 million of soybeans and soybean products and $59 million of cotton.

U.S. producers achieved these results despite the tariff and non-tariff barriers that are now in place.

With those barriers removed, U.S. producers could compete for a larger share of Colombia’s business.

And they could do so on the same terms as producers in other Latin American nations who now enjoy an advantage in exporting to Colombia because of preferential trade agreements.

 The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates that once the CTPA is fully implemented, it could generate $690 million in additional export sales each year for U.S. agriculture. The CTPA has broad support within the agricultural community and has been endorsed by over 40 leading U.S. agricultural and food associations.

In agricultural trade, the U.S. and Colombia are well matched. About half of Colombia’s exports to our country do not compete directly with U.S.-grown products. Colombia’s top three agricultural exports to the U.S. are coffee beans, nursery products and bananas. Together, they account for 90 percent of our purchases.

Our largest agricultural exports to Colombia are wheat, coarse grains, cotton and soybeans, along with processed food products, fruits and tree nuts. Under the CTPA, U.S. wheat, barley, cotton and fruits and tree nuts would gain immediate duty-free status, as would most processed food products.

 Colombia today is the third most populous nation in Latin America, with more than 44 million people and a population growth rate that has been running as high as 2 percent per year. Since 2002, its economy has averaged growth of more than 5 percent a year while foreign investment has nearly quadrupled — to nearly $9 billion in 2006 — and poverty and unemployment rates have fallen. The long-term outlook is for rising rates of per-capita income and a larger middle class. This means more consumers for our goods.

We expect these trends to stimulate demand for higher quality food products and lead to higher sales of processed foods and beef, pork and poultry products. This, in turn, will generate greater domestic demand for feed grains for livestock — demand that U.S. producers will be well positioned to meet if the CTPA is in place.

But as President Bush has said, the agreement with Colombia is more than a matter of dollars and cents. It is a matter of national security. The CTPA affords us a chance to promote peace, stability and the rule of law in a democratic ally that deserves our support. Colombia is a friend as well as trading partner for the United States.

Under President Uribe’s leadership, the Colombian people and their government have reduced violence, revived their economy and strengthened human rights policies. They have also curbed paramilitary violence against trade unionists, fought drug trafficking and taken steps to protect workers’ rights. The CTPA would build on this progress through specific safeguards that address the concerns expressed by outside observers, including some in the U.S. Congress.

Colombia has become a vibrant democracy with a bright economic future. Now is the time for action.

The Colombian legislature has already ratified the agreement. By acting at this critical moment, we can demonstrate to the Colombian people and millions across the region that they can count on the United States — and that freedom is the surest path to prosperity and peace.

Schafer is the U.S. secretary of agriculture.