U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Stirs in Its Sleep

The stalled U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement has become a campaign issue in Florida’s 25th District, which is home to a substantial Colombian-American population. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart is using his support of the agreement as a club with which to beat his challenger.

That challenger, Joe Garcia, doth protest. He says he is “for fair trade and getting it done in a way that protects American jobs and American commerce.” That’s another way of saying that he thinks consumers are paying too little for goods and services.

Here at CEI, we believe that trade cannot be fair unless it is free. For more on how the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement promotes both fairness and freedom, see this study that Fran Smith and I co-authored in July.