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DE RUCNAI #0002/01 0362307
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O 052307Z FEB 08
FM USDEL SECRETARY COLOMBIA
TO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA IMMEDIATE
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UNCLAS PARTO 020502 
(Note:  the unique message record number (MRN) has been modified.  The original MRN was 08 PARTO 000002, which duplicates a previous PARTO telegram number.) 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
DEPT. PLEASE PASS TO USTR, AARON ROSENBERG, AND BENNETT 
HARMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OVIP RICE CONDOLEEZZA ETRD ECIN EINV ELAB
PGOV, PHUM, PREL, PETER, VE, CO 
SUBJECT: Secretary Rice's Meeting with Colombian Anti-TPA 
Labor Leaders 
 
 
¶1. (U) January 24, 2008; 6:15 p.m.; Medellin, Colombia. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Participants: 
 
United States 
The Secretary 
Ambassador William R. Brownfield 
Representative Melissa Bean 
Representative Eliot Engel 
Representative Jane Harman 
Representative Alcee Hastings 
Representative Ron Klein 
Representative Rick Larsen 
Representative Solomon Ortiz 
Representative Ed Perlmutter 
Representative David Scott 
A/S Jeffrey Bergner, H 
A/S Sean McCormack, PA 
A/S Thomas Shannon, WHA 
A/S Daniel Sullivan, EEB 
S Chief of Staff Brian Gunderson 
Director of House Affairs Scott Kamins 
Deputy Executive Secretary Kevin Whitaker 
Adam Lenert, Embassy Notetaker 
 
COLOMBIA 
Carlos Rodriguez, President of the United Workers' 
Confederation (CUT) 
Boris Montes, Assistant Secretary General, CUT 
William Millan, Deputy Secretary General, General 
Confederation of Workers (CGT) 
Ruben Dario Gomez, Deputy Secretary General, Antioquia 
Division, CGT 
Apecides Alvis, President, Colombian Confederation of 
Workers (CTC) 
Jose Leon Ramirez, Secretary of International Relations, 
CTC 
Jose Luciano Sanin, Director, National Unionist School 
(ENS) 
 
¶3. (SBU) SUMMARY. Colombian trade union officials that 
oppose the U.S.-Colombian Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) 
told the Secretary and accompanying Members of Congress 
that a TPA would increase competition from the United 
States and endanger domestic industries. They urged the 
Members not to approve the TPA until Colombia fully 
guaranteed unions' rights and workers had better contracts 
and benefits, adding that no changes to the existing TPA 
would alter their opposition. The Members of Congress 
said they did not want the TPA "held hostage" by the 
 
 
unions, but they remained concerned about violence and 
impunity. The Secretary noted that the U.S.-Colombia TPA 
had the strongest labor protections of any TPA and said 
the United States would remain committed to ensuring 
Colombia's compliance. END SUMMARY. 
 
-------------------------------- 
LABOR REPS FEAR U.S. COMPETITION 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Colombian labor representatives said they oppose 
the TPA because Colombian industry could not compete with 
U.S. firms without protection. Rodriguez said it remains 
costly and time-consuming to transport goods from Bogota 
and Medellin to seaports for export. He claimed the lack 
of a national railroad, good highways, and industrial 
machinery makes it difficult for Colombian producers to 
compete with U.S. producers. Millan conceded that some 
sectors of Colombia's economy would benefit from a TPA and 
that the agreement would phase-in the removal of trade 
barriers for vulnerable sectors, but predicted its passage 
would increase U.S. imports to Colombia by 320 percent and 
result in the loss of thousands of Colombian jobs. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
CONFEDERATIONS CRITICIZE GOC ON SAFE-GUARDS, COMPLIANCE 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Millan said the U.S. Congress should not approve 
a TPA until Colombia fully guaranteed unions' rights and 
workers had better benefits. He said the Colombian 
government had not done enough to protect unionists from 
violence, prosecute perpetrators of crimes against them, 
and strengthen the ability of workers to bargain 
collectively. Sanin complained that labor reforms in 
1990, 1992, and 2002 made employment contracts more 
flexible, resulting in more fixed-term contracts and 
making it easier for employees to fire workers. He 
complained these reforms also created a loophole that 
allowed employers to avoid paying social security and 
other benefits by contracting with cooperatives instead of 
directly hiring workers. 
 
---------------------------------- 
VIOLENCE, IMPUNITY REMAIN CONCERNS 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Sanin acknowledged that violence against 
unionists had fallen sharply, but claimed Colombia 
remained the most violent country in the world for 
 
 
 
organized labor. He rejected the Colombian government's 
findings that the motives in most union murders did not 
relate to the victim's union activity, but more often 
resulted from common crime, personal conflicts, or 
violence between illegal armed groups. Sanin added that 
the USD 37 million the Colombian government spent on 
protecting unionists and other vulnerable individuals in 
2007 confirmed that they remained at risk in Colombia. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Sanin said he hoped the United States would 
pressure the Colombian government to take action on four 
main proposals: 1) reform labor legislation to conform to 
International Labor Organization standards concerning the 
rights of workers to organize and to strike; 2) implement 
a decent minimum wage; 3) promote social dialogue to 
create strong, legitimate unions; and 4) reinstate the 
Labor Ministry and ensure its capacity to enforce labor 
standards. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
UNIONS DECLARE OPPOSITION TO TPA INALTERABLE 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Rodriguez said no changes to the TPA or 
additional assurances from the United States could alter 
the confederations' opposition. He demanded the complete 
redrafting of the TPA with extensive input from the 
unions. Representative Engel commented that the 
confederations wanted to "hold the TPA hostage" to force 
the Colombian government to comply with their terms. 
 
------------------------------------- 
U.S. COMMITTED TO ENSURING COMPLIANCE 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Secretary Rice thanked the unionists for their 
openness. She believed the TPA would promote economic 
growth while providing an opportunity for social justice 
in a country emerging from a period of extraordinary civil 
conflict. She said she shared concerns about ensuring 
compliance with labor standards and the rights of workers, 
and agreed that a free labor movement did constitute an 
important part of democracy. The Secretary told the 
unionists that the U.S.-Colombia TPA had the strongest 
labor protections of any TPA the U.S. had signed. She 
added that re-negotiation of the agreement would not be 
possible, but said the United States has committed to 
ensuring that its free-trade partners upheld those 
provisions and international conventions. 
RICE