Clinton Voices Opposition To Colombia Deal

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton emphasized her opposition to a proposed free trade agreement with Colombia, two days after her chief campaign strategist was demoted for his role in supporting the deal.

"As I have said for months, I oppose the deal, I have spoken out against the deal, I will vote against the deal and I will do everything I can to urge the Congress to reject the Colombia free trade agreement," the New York Democrat told a Washington gathering of the Communication Workers of America.

On Sunday, Mark Penn left his post as top strategist for Clinton's presidential campaign after it was reported he had met with Colombia's ambassador to the United States to discuss passage of the agreement. Colombia was a client of Penn's large public relations firm, Burson-Marsteller.

Many labor unions, including the CWA, oppose such trade deals, saying they displace U.S. jobs and encourage abuses of workers and the environment in other countries.

Clinton's Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, also noted his opposition to the Colombia deal when he spoke to the CWA group moments after Clinton left the stage. He said he opposes the treaty "because when organizing workers puts an organizer's life at risk, as it does in Colombia, it makes a mockery of our labor protections."

President Bush on Monday sent the proposed Colombia deal to Congress, which has 90 days to ratify or reject it. The administration says it would help the United States by eliminating high barriers for U.S. exports to Colombia. Most Colombian products enter the United States duty-free under existing trade preference laws, the administration says.

Obama did not mention Penn in his 25-minute speech to CWA activists. But in a conference call arranged by Obama's campaign, Teamsters president James Hoffa called on Clinton to cut all ties with Penn, who continues to advise her campaign.

"This latest issue with Mark Penn really hurts her credibility," especially on trade issues, said Hoffa, who supports Obama.

In a separate conference call, Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson likened Penn to a newspaper editor who "plays an important role but isn't in charge" of the paper.