The House Committee on Ways and Means submitted the Colombia-U.S. free trade agreement to an initial vote on Wednesday, the legislative body announced.
The long-awaited Colombia-U.S. FTA was submitted to Congress on Monday alongside other United States trade pacts with Panama and South Korea.
President of the committee Dave Camp said in his opening statement, “this vote couldn’t come at a better time. With zero job creation last month and an unemployment rate hovering above 9% we have to look at all the opportunities to create American jobs.”
Camp also said that President Obama estimates the three agreements have the potential to support and create 250,000 jobs “all without adding one dime of new government spending,” and they have the opportunity to add $10 billion to United States GDP.
According to Camp, American exports to Colombia face an 11% tax, while Colombian exports to the U.S. face a tax of less than 1%.