U.S. business chiefs urge Congress on Colombia trade

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chief executives from some of the biggest U.S. companies urged Congress on Tuesday to quickly pass a free trade agreement with Colombia that U.S. labor groups strongly oppose.

CEOs from Wal-Mart, Microsoft, General Motors, Coca-Cola and more than a dozen other top U.S. companies made the appeal to Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress.

It came one week after the Senate gave final congressional approval to a free trade pact with Colombia's neighbor, Peru.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other senior Democrats so far have ignored the Bush administration's repeated requests to set a date for a vote on the Colombian agreement, even it is largely the same as the one with Peru.

They argue Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has not taken strong enough action to end decades of deadly violence against trade unionists and put their murderers in jail.

In a letter to Pelosi and other congressional leaders, the business executives said the Colombia agreement was a good deal for U.S. exporters that would strengthen political ties with one of United States' strongest allies in Latin America.

"Improving the rule of law in Colombia is vital but delaying approval of the U.S.-Colombia TPA (Trade Promotion Agreement) is not the answer ... Delaying approval will undermine the U.S.-Colombia relationship, which has been a significant factor in promoting Colombia's progress," the business chiefs said.

The AFL-CIO labor federation has urged Congress to wait at least until 2008 to vote on the agreement to give Colombia more time to prove it is serious about ending violence.

Democratic presidential candidates, including Sen. Hillary Clinton and former senator John Edwards, have echoed the labor group's strong opposition.

But the White House argues Uribe already has a done remarkable job in stabilizing a country once on the brink of collapse because of narco-trafficking and decades of civil war.

Echoing that theme, the business leaders said Congress faces a decision whether to "move forward with pro-growth and pro-rule-of-law policies in the Western Hemisphere or step back from a key ally."

(Reporting by Doug Palmer, editing by Vicki Allen)