Dear Member of Congress:

I write to ask you to publicly state your opposition to the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, and to vote against it if it comes to a vote.

While having little impact on the United States, the Colombia FTA threatens small farmers in Colombia by requiring Colombia to lower tariffs on agricultural products. This will make the country vulnerable to cheap subsidized imports from the U.S, which would effectively wipe out local farmers. This is exactly what happened to the 1.3 million who have been displaced in Mexico since NAFTA passed 12 years ago. This is of particular concern in a country working to curb coca production and home to the world’s second largest population of internally displaced people.

The compromise agreement reached between Congressional leaders and Bush Administration trade officials does nothing to address these concerns. In addition, its provisions on labor, the environment and generic medicines may be unenforceable.

Furthermore, Colombia is still a country at war and its record on human rights is dismal. Attacks on civil society, union leaders, Afro-Colombians and Indigenous people continue with impunity. The FTA will reward the Colombian government and business elites for their misconduct while deepening economic disparity, a root cause of the conflict, and diminishing human rights.

As a Christian, I believe that public policies should be evaluated on the basis of their impact on people struggling to overcome poverty. Rather than voting to approve unfair and unwise trade agreements, Congress should place priority on improving the lives, food security, health and livelihoods of ordinary people—workers and farmers—in the U.S. and developing countries.

Fair and just trade agreements should fully respect the right of developing countries to safeguard their own domestic economies in ways that promote and protect their own small-holder farmers, vulnerable workers, and homegrown manufacturers.

Crafting trade policies that will foster peoples' well-being in all countries will also improve the well-being of U.S. citizens. Recognizing that a secure and stable world where poverty and inequality are on the decline is in our country’s long-term interest, I urge you to reject the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

Thank you for your attention to this concern.

Sincerely,