Lincoln Diaz-Balart: “I am a strong believer and always have been in free trade among free peoples. There are four democracies in this…”

“I am a strong believer and always have been in free trade among free peoples. There are four democracies in this hemisphere, allies of the United States, facing tremendous challenges, not the least of which is narcotrafficking. The strongest signal we could send to them, that we appreciate their friendship, and that we look forward to working with them to mutually seek progress and prosperity in the United States and in our neighborhood in this hemisphere, is by passing this legislation today. With regard to the argument that there have been problems with labor leaders in Colombia, the same person that came to advocate for that today before the Committee on Rules to prevent free trade with Colombia, advocates for free trade, for example, with the only dictatorship in this hemisphere today where there are no labor rights. How can you be for free trade with the Cuban dictatorship, where there are absolutely no labor rights, and then come and advocate for the denial of free trade or a trade relationship with a democracy because there are some problems?”