Ricardo Martinelli is More American than Barack Obama

Last November we published Implement Free Trade Now, documenting the Obama administration’s lack of good faith in implementing free trade agreements with important allies such as Colombia, Panama and South Korea. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the unnecessary delays in the implementation of these treaties has caused the loss of 383,400 American jobs.  Due to the disastrous effects of other Obama policies, these jobs are sorely needed right now.

The U.S. and Panama signed the Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) in June 2007, but leftist elements in the U.S. Congress managed to destroy the “fast track” procedure for implementing these agreements. The paperwork is still languishing in the U.S. government bureaucracy — more than two years later.

Ricardo Martinelli is the President of Panama, one of the United States most important allies in Latin America.  Unlike our own President, Martinelli is a strong believer in American values such as freedom and capitalism.

President Martinelli recently wrote an op-ed article for TheHill, Pact between U.S., Panama will further strengthen nations’ ties, which discusses this failure.  His article is a good read, but it is a soft one.  President Martinelli is far too polite to discuss this issue with the bluntness which it deserves.

Quoting from the article:

Because of the values we share, and our deep appreciation for the United States, Panama continues to be a long-standing ally of the U.S. in Latin America. Approving the U.S.-Panama Free Trade Agreement will further strengthen the relationship between our two countries, offering the benefits of jobs and economic growth that both countries want.

During his campaign, candidate Obama made a lot of noise about listening to the people and leaders of other nations.  It’s time for President Obama to follow through on his words.