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Colombia: Hillary changed her mind on FTA over $50 million, oops, $130 million

LANGUAGE WARNING

Ace posts, Hillary Clinton Reversed Position on Trade Deal With Colombia After Huge Donation to Clinton Foundation

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Frank Guistra, a mining magnate — that means oil — who gave the Clinton Foundation up to fifty fucking million fucking dollars.

Make that $130 million, Ace,

Oh. I guess I lowballed it.

As Colombian Oil Money Flowed To Clintons, State Department Took No Action To Prevent Labor Violations

The details of these financial dealings remain murky, but this much is clear: After millions of dollars were pledged by the oil company to the Clinton Foundation — supplemented by millions more from Giustra himself — Secretary Clinton abruptly changed her position on the controversial U.S.-Colombia trade pact. Having opposed the deal as a bad one for labor rights back when she was a presidential candidate in 2008, she now promoted it, calling it “strongly in the interests of both Colombia and the United States.” The change of heart by Clinton and other Democratic leaders enabled congressional passage of a Colombia trade deal that experts say delivered big benefits to foreign investors like Giustra.

Just how much money are we talking about?

In a Wall Street Journal story from 2008, Giustra is described as a “friend and traveling companion” of former President Clinton who donated more than $130 million to Clinton’s philanthropies.

This is not the first time the Clintons were dealing from both sides of the deck. As you may recall,

Mark Penn, her campaign strategist was also working for the Colombian government towards pushing the agreement.

Penn was fired by the Colombians on Saturday and lost his job as Hillary’s campaign strategist on Sunday, but will remain as pollster and adviser to the Hillary campaign, whatever that means.

Frank Giustra now occupies a seat on the board of the Clinton Foundation,

Just the other day Bill was saying his foundation

is, by a good long stretch, the most transparent of all the presidential foundations and more transparent than a lot of other major foundations in the country.”

It all depends on what the meaning of the word “is” is:

Since it’s Throwback Thursday, coinciding with the Summit of the Americas, a quick glance back to 2012, when Hillary tied one on and led the conga line at the Summit,

Is Hillary Clinton becoming an embarrassment as Secretary of State?

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Where’s the Colombia FTA? Sitting on the President’s desk

Now that the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement is law, US wheat growers are feeling the pinch (emphasis added; h/t Instapundit),

On Monday, the Colombia-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) entered into force. It is an agreement first signed on Nov. 21, 2008, nearly two years to the day after a U.S.-Colombia FTA was signed. Now most Canadian industries enjoy duty-free access to the growing Colombian market. In contrast, because our government has allowed our FTA to languish, Colombian importers must still pay tariffs on most U.S. goods. For wheat, that tariff overcomes the natural advantage U.S. exporters otherwise have in providing quality wheat on a timely basis to our valued Colombian customers.

The stakes are particularly high for U.S. farmers as roughly 50 percent of U.S. wheat and 25 percent of all U.S. agricultural production is exported. In 2010/11, the United States exported more than 35 million metric tons (MT) of wheat — roughly 60 percent of last year’s production — to about 70 countries. The United States is the largest supplier of wheat to the world and these exports provide worldwide customers with a competitive wheat source while returning an economic boost to the U.S. economy.

The U.S. wheat industry has worked hard to build a reputation as a reliable supplier. While American farms are largely family-run operations, they are businesses that understand the importance of trade to their customers. The U.S. wheat industry has a long history of promoting fair and open trade and looks forward to implementing pending and future trade agreements such as the nine-country TransPacific Partnership agreement to maintain its competitiveness in world markets. We can only hope that our customers in Colombia, as well as in South Korea and Panama*, understand this situation for what it is: a domestic political struggle that accomplishes only confusion, frustration and diminished trust.

U.S. wheat farmers will not give up on trade and once more call for the immediate ratification and implementation of the U.S.-Colombia FTA so U.S. producers and our Colombian customers can benefit from bilateral trade conducted on a level playing field.

Last week President Obama decried that the FTAs with South Korea, Panama and Colombia had not been passed by Congress. Well, where are they?

On his desk:

On his three-state tour in the Midwest this week, Mr. Obama repeatedly told audiences that the Korea, Colombia and Panama free-trade deals would all be law by now if not for an obstructionist Congress. Passing the deals is something Congress “could do right now,” he said.

Except that’s not true. Congress can’t pass the agreements “right now” because it doesn’t have them. They are still sitting on the President’s desk. Seriously.

If you are surprised to learn this, you are not alone. White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest only learned the news on Friday during a press conference. Asked why the FTAs haven’t been sent, he responded, “We have not sent them over?”

That was followed by what might be called an awkward moment. “I will say this—I mean, there has been an active dialogue that’s been underway between the United States trade representative, other members of the Administration, with the appropriate Congressional leaders in the committees of jurisdiction. We are in a place where we have seen Republicans advocating for passing these free trade agreements for quite some time,” Mr. Earnest explained. He also pointed out that “these three trade agreements combined would create or support about 70,000 jobs here in the U.S.”

A reporter persisted and asked, “Well, when are you going to send them over?” “But I can tell you that there’s no reason—I mean, there’s agreement here about the benefits of these trade agreements getting through the Congress, both here at the White House and Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill. Mr. Earnest referred reporters to “Congress or the USTR on the legislative mechanics of this,” adding that “there is bipartisan agreement on this and it’s something that we should move on really quick.”

I have been writing about the Colombia FTA for nearly five years and thought I had heard it all, but this one takes the cake.

We’re in the best hands.

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Say hello to the Canada-Colombia FTA

Sean Hackbarth of the US Chamber of Commerce posts that

Today, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Canada and Colombia went into effect. Canadian workers and businesses get to reap the benefits of lower duties and expanded trade, while Americans wait for Washington to act on the pending FTAs with Colombia, South Korea, and Panama.

As I have pointed out in the past,

The Democrats in Congress had been holding up final approval of the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia for years, lacking support of their Big Labor constituents, particularly the United Auto Workers.

With Colombia, it’s Americans who are having to pay export fees and duties, while the US is losing market share to other countries – Canada included, now.

Back to Sean,

not passing the Colombia FTA hurts American companies and workers. According to U.S. Wheat Associates, “the United States could lose $100 million in wheat sales each year as a result of our tariff disadvantage.” And staff from the House Ways and Means committee point out that “in the past two years, U.S. farmers and ranchers have lost more than $1 billion in sales to Colombia.”

And so we wait.

UPDATE,
Outsourcing Jobs, Union-Style

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Congress must pass the FTAs with Colombia and Panama

The Democrats in Congress had been holding up final approval of the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia for years, lacking support of their Big Labor constituents, particularly the United Auto Workers. The FTA with Korea passed becauseKorea’s pact got the imprimatur of one labor union, the United Auto Workers, while Panama’s and Colombia’s pacts did not.

in spite of the fact that

the agreements cost nothing, will add some $12 billion in goods and services to the U.S. economy and are job-creating machines

Allow me to remind you that, particularly with Colombia, it’s Americans who are having to pay export fees and duties, while the US is losing market share to other countries.

Now the FTAs are getting more support,

Republican, sent Mr. Obama and Congressional leaders a letter urging swift passage of the Colombia and Panama deals. The 19 served under no fewer than six U.S. Presidents, from Gerald Ford through George W. Bush.

The signatories include two former special envoys to the Americas; six former U.S. Trade Representatives, including Democrats Mickey Kantor and Charlene Barshefsky; and 11 former Assistant Secretaries of State for the Western Hemisphere, including Bernard Aronson and several other Democrats.
…
The letter explains the clear American economic self-interest in approving the pacts. In the five years prior to 2008, U.S. exports of major grain products to Colombia grew by 38% a year, worth nearly $4 billion. Since 2008, while the U.S. failed to approve its bilateral pact, Colombia has moved on deals with Canada, Chile, the EU, Brazil, Argentina and other farm product competitors of the U.S.

One result is that U.S. farm exports to Colombia fell 48% between 2008 and 2009, and another 45% in 2010. Exports of corn, wheat and soybeans fell by 68%. The bipartisan letter estimates nearly $700 million in lost U.S. exports in those farm products alone.

What did Obama do? Nothing. The White House ignored the letter.

Yesterday

The Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate Finance Committee said Wednesday they would withhold approval of another trade agreement – a pact with South Korea that Obama recently completed – unless it is packaged with a Colombiadeal and a third, less controversial one being negotiated with Panama.

Today a Colombian delegation is holding talks with administration officials, who remain beholden to the UAW.

Let’s hope the Senate Finance Committee members prevail.

UPDATE
Big Unions, Big Money,

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Waffles for Uribe

Colombia, America’s strongest ally in the hemisphere, needs the Free Trade Agreement with the US finalized. The agreement will end tariffs paid by US producers selling to Colombia, and will also send a message of support to the anti-Chavista forces in the region.

This week Colombian President Álvaro Uribe is visiting Pres. Obama. Uribe of course brought up the subject, only to be served a waffle:

U.S. President Barack Obama expressed hope that Congress would eventually approve a long-delayed free trade agreement with Colombia, but said that country needed to make more progress on human rights first.

“There remains work to do. But I’m confident that ultimately we can strike a deal that is good for the people and good for the people of the United States,” Obama told reporters after a meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

In remarks in the White House Oval Office, Obama said he did not have “a strict timetable” for submitting the trade deal to Congress because he already had a busy legislative agenda this year and needed to consult with lawmakers first.

The Wall Street Journal struck an optimistic note: “Obama Is Optimistic About U.S., Colombia Free Trade Deal”, which reminds me of the old line “I’ll call you tomorrow”, but Drudge was less kind than I, calling Obama’s reaction “the evil eye.”

uribeobama

You don’t expect the FTAs with Peru and South Korea are going to be finalized any time soon, do you?

————————————-

In today’s podcast at 11 AM Eastern, I’ll talk about about Cristina Fernandez‘s losses in last Sunday’s Argentinian Congressional election.

Post corrected for a major typo

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Sorry Colombia! Is now on line

Robert Mayer of Publius Pundit has just launched Sorry Colombia!

Why Are We Sorry?
On July 2, 2007, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, and Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Sander Levin issued a statement on Democrat trade policy rejecting a free trade agreement with our closest ally in Latin America, Colombia. According to them, it cannot be approved until “concrete evidence of sustained results on the ground in Colombia” regarding issues such as violence and corruption have been shown.

This is an apology to Colombians for the lies and incompetence of America’s Congressional leaders, as well as a resource for the truth on Colombia’s remarkable fight for normality.

In the spirit of Pelosi’s Hoyer’s and Rangel’s Congressional idiocy, here’s my picture:

Robert and I discussed Colombia and the FTA agreement in last Friday’s podcast.

Previous post here.

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Special podcast at 3:30PM Eastern: Colombia, Congress and the Free Trade Agreement

UPDATED 7/7/7
Scroll down for Monica’s editorial

Monica Showalter of Investor’s Business Daily, Robert Meyer of Publius Pundit, and Gateway Pundit talk to Fausta about Colombia, the US Congress and the Free Trade Agreement in this afternoon’s special podcast.

Join us!

You can listen to it here
blog radio

UPDATE
You can listen to the podcast here
Monica was pressed for a deadline and Gateway Pundit couldn’t make it, so Robert and I discussed the ramifications of the FTA, whether it is approved or not.
Babalu has more on the demonstrations.

Update, Saturday, 7/7/7
Here’s the editorial Monica was working on (emphasis added):
Congress Holds Colombia Hostage

Free Trade: Congressional Democrats justify scrapping a U.S. trade pact with our best ally in the hemisphere on vague claims its government violates human rights. Last week, Colombia’s people saw a different enemy.

It was couched in syrupy language, but it was as bad a blow to Colombia as any dealt by its enemies. The U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, in a statement by Democrats Nancy Pelosi, Charles Rangel and Sander Levin declared the Democratic Party would deny free trade indefinitely to 46 million Colombians over a few dozen unsolved murders of union activists in the last year.

Hundreds of thousands in Cali demanded the release of kidnap victims.
The trade pact Colombia negotiated in good faith with the U.S. and which it needs to sustain its dramatic economic recovery from the ruins of a 44-year war must wait until Democrats arbitrarily decide they’re satisfied with the violence level. This gives every anti-free trade Colombian thug an incentive to keep killing.

How Colombia could satisfy the Democrats was something a Pelosi spokesman told us he had no specifics about and “would have to get back to” us on. (He hasn’t.)

Although Colombia critically needs a free trade pact to sustain investment, curb its illicit drug trade and end tariffs for U.S. companies, this didn’t seem to matter.

Instead, Congress was looking for excuses to halt free trade. Why? For the sake of its own union backers, of course, and to curry favor with the leftist think tanks which are enraged about the success of Colombia’s popular — and conservative — President Alvaro Uribe.

U.S. congressional hearings on June 28 about right wing paramilitary murders of union activists painted Colombia’s democracy as a caricature of a 1970s military junta.

Congress focused on gory reports about violence there, singling out unions as martyrs with little context about the biggest detail — that the violence had fallen and 1,500 union officials were being protected by the government.

“There is widespread concern in Congress about the level of violence in Colombia, the impunity, the lack of investigations and prosecutions, and the role of the paramilitary. Issues of this nature cannot solely be resolved through language in a trade agreement,” a Democratic Party statement read. “Consequently, we cannot support the Colombia FTA at this time.”

Well, here’s a little context: This year, the number of union officials killed in Colombia was three. Last year, it was 72. Ten years ago, it was 275, according to Amnesty International.

In Congressional testimony, Human Rights Watch lumped all murders of union officials since 1986 together, dishonestly producing a scary 2,515 total. It gave no indication of progress.

But in Colombia, only 4.3% of workers are unionized, union deaths are barely an issue and paramilitaries have been dismantled.

Millions of Colombians instead issued a people’s cry last Thursday against the more serious enemy of their country’s well-being — the Marxist FARC narcoterrorists. They marched through the streets of Bogota, Medellin and Cali — calling for an end to the violence from the radical left. Led by Uribe himself, the first million-plus protest in Colombia in decades was triggered by the cold-blooded murder of 11 legislators by FARC, who held the elected leaders for five years before killing them.

In taking to the streets, Colombians sent a message to FARC that its hostage-taking, murder of people of all kinds, narcotrafficking and war were the real enemy. Rallying behind their enormously popular president, they signalled to the world that they are squarely behind his leadership and his fierce struggle against Marxist terror.

This is the real story of Colombia — a nation struggling against the odds to forge a better future through free trade and democracy. Maybe Democrats ought to start thinking about what they really oppose when they try to paint Colombia as a banana republic and deny it the free trade it’s earned.

Contact your Congressman/woman and urge them to grant Colombia FTA status.
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