Colombia trade pact dispute spills into Californians’ laps

A morning breakfast briefing for a delegation of Southern California business and government officials in town to lobby Congress turned nasty this morning with a bitter war of words over the proposed Colombian free trade agreement.

Some 200 guests – including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa – found themselves caught in the middle of the high-level trade dispute that has exposed a deep rift between the administration and the Democratic congressional leadership.

Last week, President Bush said he was sending the trade agreement to Congress for its consideration. The House voted April 8 to delay consideration, likely until after the November elections, effectively blocking the measure because the Senate cannot act until after the House does.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) spoke first, telling a nonpartisan partnership led mainly by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce that the trade measure could not pass until it did more to invest in infrastructure.

“I’ve told the White House we stand ready to discuss with them how we can proceed at bringing this legislation to the floor,” she said. “I’ve said, ‘If you want to do it the way you want to do it, it will lose. If you just want to jam it down the throats of Congress, it will lose.’ ”

Susan C. Schwab, the U.S. trade representative, who followed Pelosi but did not hear her speech, complained that House Democrats were ruining a great deal for the United States.

“The Colombia agreement is in limbo and effectively dead unless the speaker of the House provides a time-specific vote,” she said. “The Colombians and the Colombian agreement and the American people and anyone in this country who cares about exports deserves to have an up-or-down vote on this free trade agreement.”

“This is, by any definition, a winner for the United States,” Schwab said. “Every single one of those sectors in the United States that exports, and exports to Colombia, will be saving hundreds of thousands and ultimately millions of dollars.”

Pelosi said House Democrats worked with the administration to ratify a free trade agreement with Peru and supported the stimulus package passed this year.

“I have been saying for a while to the White House that it would be very hard to pass any trade agreements in the present climate because people across America, and you know more about this issue than anyone, are concerned about losing their jobs because of immigration and because of trade,” Pelosi said. “Right or wrong. Valid or not.”

Schwab said administration officials have had more than 400 meetings with members of Congress and more than a dozen meetings with the speaker of the House about Colombia. She said they added enforceable labor and environmental provisions after Democrats asked.

“And then, oops, the goal post moved,” she said, complaining that Democrats were not living up to their end of the bargain.

Schwab encouraged the audience to lobby members of Congress to push for the trade agreement as they visit with them.

“Quite frankly with the plug pulled on the timeline for the Colombia FTA, it is now entirely in Congress’ hands,” Schwab said. “In fact, it is entirely in the hands of the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives. It is out of our hands.”

Pelosi said she didn’t oppose trade or globalization.

“Its not a difference as to whether we understand globalization,” she said. “Its just a situation of how we all move together in that direction, and I believe that is possible. I don’t associate myself with those who say, ‘No, never,’ and there are some who say that.”

The group is on record as supporting the Colombian free trade agreement, but there was only scattered applause when Schwab called for Congress to vote on the pact.

james.hohmann@latimes.com