David Rivera Pushes Free Trade With South American Nations

While Politico ranks freshman U.S. Rep. David Rivera as the most vulnerable congressional incumbent in 2012, the Florida Republican is carrying on as if it's business as usual.

Rivera weighed in on Tuesday on the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), a trade agreement with Colombia, Ecuador and Peru which expires on Feb. 12. While initially scheduled for a vote Tuesday night, Republicans have kicked it back to next week as they try to force President Barack Obama to back free-trade agreements with Colombia and Panama.

We must approve the extension of the Andean Trade Preference Act. It is critical to ensure economic stability in the region, said Rivera. Colombia is especially in need of extending this agreement. Colombia has been hit hard with ongoing natural disasters and flooding that have left more than 300 dead and hundreds of thousands of homes damaged, and due to the La Ni system, heavy rains are expected to continue. Colombia is now undertaking the task of rebuilding homes, schools, businesses, hospitals and roads while taking on massive infrastructure projects to control flooding in the future. The ATPA will help Colombia maintain a stable and fully functioning economy which is necessary to avoid undoing the social, political and economic progress of recent years.

Extending the ATPA is also a step in the right direction to keep trade avenues open with Colombia as we continue to work on approval of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, added Rivera. While 90 percent of Colombian goods enter the United States duty-free, in part because of the ATPA, American companies still pay tariffs for American goods to enter Colombia. The Colombia Free Trade Agreement would eliminate trade obstacles and immediately boost U.S. exports to Colombia by roughly $2.5 billion and exports by over a billion, creating thousands of jobs in the United States.

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