Sam Farr: “If we're going to encourage progress--we're investing a lot of money in Colombia, we have Peace Corps volunteers in…”

“If we're going to encourage progress--we're investing a lot of money in Colombia, we have Peace Corps volunteers in Colombia--if we're going to encourage growth of U.S. industries and markets in South America, and if we're going to really deal with the culture of poverty, then we have to encourage a strong future for both countries. And the only way to do that is to assure the adoption of this agreement. Most agricultural groups across the state of California are strongly supportive of all three FTAs. They understand that the FTAs will generate new export opportunities in their sector. However, the California cut flower industry grows over 80% of the domestically grown flowers, supporting over 10,000 jobs and contributing $10 billion to the California economy. They have real concerns about the pending Colombia FTA. Our cut flower farmers are the group most adversely impacted by free trade with Colombia. And I have been working hard to mitigate the impact of the FTA on their industry. To their great credit, our California flower farmers do not oppose the FTA. Together, they have developed a transportation and logistics center. This will cut shipping costs by 22-34 percent, according to a new study by USC. This would help level the playing field and restore competitiveness with Colombian farmers, who have received hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance from their government and ours over the past 20 years.…”