Baucus visits South American port

Baucus visits South American port    Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, who supports ratification of a free trade agreement negotiated several years ago with Colombia, visited the Port of Cartagena Feb. 27 to learn how customs procedures and counternarcotics efforts coexist with trade to the United States.

Baucus

   Baucus met with officials from the Anti-Narcotics Police (DIRAN) and the Cartagena Regional Port Authority, and with government and business leaders in separate meetings.
   'Trade between Colombia and the U.S. will grow once the free trade agreement is approved, so we need to ensure the security, trade facilitation and customs enforcement priorities are addressed,' Baucus said in a statement. 'We need to work hard to maintain a careful balance between trade and security that creates jobs and bolsters the economy while keeping Americans safe from harm. The better we work with other countries to balance trade and security, the more effective our own efforts will become.'
   Baucus' comments reflect similar views on the role of U.S. Customs, which he has called on to adjust its policies to meet the needs of business in the international market. A reform bill he authored stalled during the last session of Congress.
   Last year, DIRAN port units seized more than 11 metric tons of cocaine, almost 15 kilos of heroin and 67 kilos of marijuana as part of the Port Security Program, a collaborative effort between private industry and the Colombian and U.S. governments, according to a committee news release.
   Cartagena is the busiest container port in Colombia, with 52 percent of all exports destined for the United States. Fifty-nine percent of container imports, such as chemicals, appliances and machinery, come from the United States.