Ohio’s senators disagree on Colombian trade pact
Columbus Dispatch, USA
Ohio’s senators disagree on Colombian trade pact
10 April 2011
Sen. Sherrod Brown, a longtime critic of trade pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, last week assailed the new agreement between the Obama administration and Colombia, charging that "it merely represents another example of Washington being out-of-touch with concerns and values of most Americans."
"While Congress tries to prevent a government shutdown - while the gathering threat to workers rights across the world is ever more clear - the president’s announcement of a trade agreement with a country that remains the most-dangerous country to be a trade unionist is a disappointment," the Ohio Democrat said in a statement.
By contrast, Sen. Rob Portman, who served as U.S. trade representative under President George W. Bush, hailed the announcement.
The Ohio Republican said the agreement would "create thousands of American jobs’’ and is "a welcome development toward giving Ohio workers, farmers and service providers better access to worldwide markets."
