Colombia and Panama want into CAFTA! I say let them in!

[GHook93]

NAFTA has been disastrous! We took a nice trade surplus with Mexico and made it the 2nd largest deficit in history (next to China). It also (along with Clinton's ill-advised removal of the trade barrier with China and then helping China in the WTO) has eroded our manufacturing base!

HOWEVER, the other free trade agreement that been EXTREMELY positive and highly successful for the US - CAFTA. We have a trade surplus with EVERY CAFTA nation (Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua). We export $23 billion to these nations. That $18 billion more than in 1994!

CAFTA-DR (Dominican Republic-Central America FTA) | Office of the United States Trade Representative

A free trade agreement with Colombia would be part of CAFTA, not NAFTA. It would be mutually beneficial. Not to mention Colombia should be the country America should strive to help. They are the most capitalistic and free market based country in all of Latin America. They are the anti-Hugo Chavez and anti-socialism country in the region. They should be part of CAFTA ASAP.

CAFTA shouldn't be open to all Latin American nations, but worthy ones like Colombia (and Panama) are no brainers!

About the International Trade Administration the adoption of CAFTA-DR, regional trade has increased dramatically, creating a boon for U.S. exporters. In 2007, the United States exported $22.4 billion to CAFTA-DR countries, a 14.4 percent increase from 2006. The U.S. trade surplus with those countries also enjoyed a dramatic increase, growing from about $1 billion in 2006 to almost $3.7 billion in 2007. That increase reversed a U.S. trade deficit of nearly $1.2 billion in 2005, the year before CAFTA-DR