| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: |
| April 9, 2008 |
Kirk Monroe
(202) 496-3269 |
Business Roundtable today issued the following statement on the potential delay of the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement vote.
John Castellani, president of Business Roundtable:
“We are extremely disappointed that the House of Representatives is going to consider taking away the benefits of trade promotion authority for the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement and strongly urge the House to reject the change.”
“The U.S.-Colombia FTA is an especially important agreement. It promotes essential U.S. economic, foreign policy and national security objectives as well as economic development and political stability in one of our closest and most important allies in Latin America.”
“The American people expect their elected representatives and leaders to do what is in the national interest. Trade agreements, like the one with Colombia, are crucial to our country’s competitiveness. The FTA with Colombia will level the playing field for U.S. workers and companies. Currently, the U.S. allows Colombia to sell its products in the United States without charging any import duties. The FTA would require Colombia to give American products the same fair treatment. With record exports helping to sustain the U.S. economy, there’s never been a more important time for Congress to pass a trade agreement that helps American workers and companies export even more products.”
“Instead of moving forward with this change in the rules, we strongly urge Congress and the Administration to instead intensify their efforts to resolve all outstanding issues as soon as possible so that a vote on the U.S.-Colombia FTA can be scheduled for this year.”
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Business Roundtable (www.businessroundtable.org) is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with $4.5 trillion in annual revenues and more than 10 million employees. Member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock markets and represent over 40 percent of all corporate income taxes paid. Collectively, they returned $112 billion in dividends to shareholders and the economy in 2005. Roundtable companies give more than $7 billion a year in combined charitable contributions, representing nearly 60 percent of total corporate giving. They are technology innovation leaders, with $90 billion in annual research and development spending – nearly half of the total private R&D spending in the U.S.
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