At a Brookings Institution discussion on the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) says that “if you’re for free trade, you take it wherever you can get it.” He said that the ideal situation would be to strive for a “worldwide agreement, secondly regional, and only lastly bilateral” but that trade in general is “necessary for the rest of the world know that the United States is in the game.” (0:30)

 

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Today the Brookings Institution held a discussion on “The Economic and National Security Implications of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement,” featuring addresses by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Kit Bond (R-Mo.). Both senators advocated passage of the agreement, with Grassley emphasizing that there was “no downside.” He supported his claim by stating that 39 of the top 50 U.S. newspapers have published editorials in favor of the agreement, while the other 11 have not expressed opinions and none have said that Congress’s refusal to vote on the issue and put it in “cold storage” was favorable.
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Ambassador Susan Schwab, US Trade Representative, refutes anti-liberalization critics and argues that the US should further promote an open global market in order to better alleviate poverty worldwide. (0:36)

 

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