In his January 27th, 2010 State of the Union address President Obama stated that America needed to aggressively seek out new trade partners and that within five years we needed to double our exports in order to create an additional 2 million jobs in this country by creating fair and enforceable free trade agreements. One of the countries Obama specifically stated that we needed to strengthen our trade relations with in his address was Colombia, (USDOC, p. 2). President Obama has repeatedly addressed the need for the U.S. Congress to approve this treaty, yet Congress still seems reluctant to do so.
The U.S. signed a comprehensive bilateral Free Trade Agreement, (FTA), with Colombia on November 22, 2006. While Colombia’s Congress approved the agreement in 2007, we are still waiting on U.S. Congressional legislation to approve this agreement, (USTR, nod.). President Obama has tasked the USTR to address any remaining outstanding barriers against the agreement. Initial barriers to the trade agreement generally constituting issues with sanitation and other health safety concerns have long since been addressed, as well as other barriers including intellectual property rights and technology, although Obama has voiced some continuing concerns of fair labor policies in Colombia he has continually attempted to move forward on the trade agreement with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, (Meckler, n.d.).
Once congressional approval is granted, Colombia will remove all tariffs over a ten year period on all American products, no products are excluded, with agricultural product tariffs slated to be among the first removed upon approval of the treaty. Currently, while 99.9% of Colombia agricultural imports to the U.S. are duty-free, virtually all exports from the U.S. to Colombia are tariffed at a rate between 5% and 20%; additionally many of our exports are subjected to trade restrictions, creating an un-even playing field, (USFDA).
While the U.S. is reticent to impose tariffs on Colombian products to avoid a trade war, it is clear that the U.S. Congress is operating in a protectionist fashion regarding approval of the treaty. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk stated in late 2009 that he does not see the Congressional approval forthcoming as the U.S. Congress has been dealing with issues such as health care. However, the Financial Times noted prior to his confirmation that Kirk would have a tough battle ahead of him on Capitol Hill getting Congress to approve the treaty as protectionist politics were running rampant in Washington. In early 2009 54 congressional members of the House of Representatives signed a letter requesting the White House renegotiate NAFTA, cease talks with China regarding a bilateral trade agreement, and to discard any pending Free Trade Agreements, including the one with Colombia, (Beattie, 2009). Until the trade agreement with Colombia is passed, the U.S. producers will not be able to realize their full potential as trading partners with Colombia, while Colombia will continue to reap profits from tariffs imposed on U.S goods, and producers in Colombia and other countries will enjoy a continued advantage from the imposed quotas.
References:
Beattie, A. (2009, March, 10). Tough battles lie in wait for next US trade chief. The Financial Times, 4 Retrieve from PROQuest ABI/Inform Global.
Meckler, L. (2009, April 20). New movement on Colombia trade pact. Wall Street Journal Digital Network. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124010048395232143.html
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, (n.d.). Colombia FTA. Retrieved from http://www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/colombia-fta
U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration, (2010, February -March). National export initiative looks to increase exports and create jobs. International Trade Update. 1-3. Retrieved from http://trade.gov/press/publications/newsletters/ita_0210/itu_0210.pdf
United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service, (2009, September). Fact Sheet: U.S. – Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Overall Agriculture Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/Colombia/ColombiaDetailed09.pdf
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David Hector Thibodeau
1045 Wylie Street SE • Atlanta, GA 30316
• davidhectorthibodeau@gmail.com
Professional Experience:
Georgia College & State University - Milledgeville, GA 31061 2008 - Present
www.gcsu.edu
Serials/Acquisitions Coordinator
• Establish policies and procedures for the efficient operation of the Serials and Acquisitions Department, oversees database maintenance and quality, and processing of materials.
• Supervise full-time faculty, staff, and student positions.
• Manage electronic serials collection using electronic management software systems.
• Update bibliographic holdings for serials collection using standard library utilities.
• Direct all major projects and daily activities involving the management of the serials collection.
• Oversee participation in National Library of Medicine’s DOCLINE ILL program.
• Meet with department faculty to review their acquisitions needs and serve as a library liaison with academic departments.
• Provides assistance and advice to the Dean/University Librarian in the overall administration of the library, including strategic planning and the establishment of overall goals and objectives.
• Assist library administration in monitoring the budget and expenditures, recommends equipment, supplies, personnel, and other needs. Perform fiscal period close in Voyager integrated library system.
• Serve as primary liaison to vendors and as the technical contact for electronic databases, including setting up trials, negotiating licensing agreements, managing SLAs, and authoring RFQs and other correspondence.
• Participate in collection development to support the curriculum by recommending acquisitions and participating in the evaluation of current collections.
• Develop and prepare statistical and narrative reports.
• Provide reference services as assigned.
KPMG LLP - Atlanta, GA 10/2003 - 10/2007
http://www.kpmg.com/
Southeast Area Library Associate
• Relocated from Miami to Atlanta by KPMG due to assuming additional offices in 2006.
• Reference, research, and collection management for fifteen Southeast area libraries.
• Developed on-line training sessions for proprietary accounting research platform.
• Set up, developed, and administered SharePoint internal collaboration web site.
• Liaison to National Operations teams on SharePoint development.
• Redeveloped external acquisitions web site to be high functioning and suitable for firm-wide use.
• Collaborated with marketing department to improve collateral for delivery to clients and targets.
• Account contact and administrator for firm-wide on-line subscription.
• Coordinated development of the Latin American Tax Handbook between the European Tax Centre, the Latin American Tax Center, and the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation.
• Led a team to develop an electronic tool to survey library users.
• Appointed Work Environment Initiative Local Action Committee Representative in South Florida.
• Promoted from Area Library Coordinator to Area Library Associate and relocated from Boston to Miami in 2003; originally responsible for library collections, acquisitions, vendor relations, and accounts in 13 Northeast area offices.
KPMG LLP - Boston, MA 03/200- - 10/2003
http://www.kpmg.com/
Northeast Area Library Coordinator
• Implemented integrated library system software in area libraries.
• Assisted in creating a collection development database on MS Access to track expenditures.
• Substantially decreased print purchases through resource sharing and eliminating duplicative materials.
• Developed electronic process for Partners to select and order professional literature annually that resulted in $60K savings in the Northeast in the first year, (project adopted firm wide).
• Piloted on-line access to tax literature platform in Northeast Area that resulted in over $25K cost savings in Northeast area and a wider distribution of resources, (project adopted firm wide).
• Coordinated and developed training programs for Lexis/Nexis, Westlaw, and other information platforms for professionals and support staff, (project adopted firm wide).
Education:
American Intercontinental University
• 2010 – Present, MBA – Project Management Concentration
Simmons College--Boston, MA
• Summer 2000; audited - Knowledge Management
• Summer 1999; audited- Management of Information Technology
• 1996-1998 MLIS, Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Boston College--Newton, MA
• 1984-1988 BA, College of Arts and Sciences: Double Major: English and Psychology
Hebrew University--Jerusalem, Israel
• Summer 1988 & summer 1990, Assistant Archaeological Field Supervisor and associated graduate level classes.
Leadership:
Georgia Leadership Institute – State Personnel Administration
• 2009 – The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Florida Library Leadership Program -- Tallahassee, FL
• 2005-2006 - Year-long comprehensive series of learning sessions that focuses on developing an understanding of leadership, within a conceptual framework and practical applications.
Certifications:
Emory University - Center for Lifelong Learning – Atlanta, GA
• 2008 - Emory University: Management Certification.
• Courses included: Essentials of Personnel Management, Win-Win Negotiations, Essentials of Supervision, Essentials of Motivation, and Essentials of Coaching for Managers.
New Horizons--Boston, MA
• 2002 - Certified Internet Webmaster – Foundation Fundamentals
• Courses included: Networking, Internet, and Web-Page Authoring Fundamentals.
Professional Memberships:
SLA Georgia Chapter Board Member 2009 - Present
Tennis Club II Condominium Association President, Fort Lauderdale, FL 2005-2006
Member: ALA, NASIG, CIP
Skills / Strengths:
• Lexis/Nexis, Westlaw, Factiva, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, & other information databases.
• Conversational French, some Spanish
• MS office: Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, SharePoint, Visio, and Project.
1045 Wylie Street SE • Atlanta, GA 30316
• davidhectorthibodeau@gmail.com
Professional Experience:
Georgia College & State University - Milledgeville, GA 31061 2008 - Present
www.gcsu.edu
Serials/Acquisitions Coordinator
• Establish policies and procedures for the efficient operation of the Serials and Acquisitions Department, oversees database maintenance and quality, and processing of materials.
• Supervise full-time faculty, staff, and student positions.
• Manage electronic serials collection using electronic management software systems.
• Update bibliographic holdings for serials collection using standard library utilities.
• Direct all major projects and daily activities involving the management of the serials collection.
• Oversee participation in National Library of Medicine’s DOCLINE ILL program.
• Meet with department faculty to review their acquisitions needs and serve as a library liaison with academic departments.
• Provides assistance and advice to the Dean/University Librarian in the overall administration of the library, including strategic planning and the establishment of overall goals and objectives.
• Assist library administration in monitoring the budget and expenditures, recommends equipment, supplies, personnel, and other needs. Perform fiscal period close in Voyager integrated library system.
• Serve as primary liaison to vendors and as the technical contact for electronic databases, including setting up trials, negotiating licensing agreements, managing SLAs, and authoring RFQs and other correspondence.
• Participate in collection development to support the curriculum by recommending acquisitions and participating in the evaluation of current collections.
• Develop and prepare statistical and narrative reports.
• Provide reference services as assigned.
KPMG LLP - Atlanta, GA 10/2003 - 10/2007
http://www.kpmg.com/
Southeast Area Library Associate
• Relocated from Miami to Atlanta by KPMG due to assuming additional offices in 2006.
• Reference, research, and collection management for fifteen Southeast area libraries.
• Developed on-line training sessions for proprietary accounting research platform.
• Set up, developed, and administered SharePoint internal collaboration web site.
• Liaison to National Operations teams on SharePoint development.
• Redeveloped external acquisitions web site to be high functioning and suitable for firm-wide use.
• Collaborated with marketing department to improve collateral for delivery to clients and targets.
• Account contact and administrator for firm-wide on-line subscription.
• Coordinated development of the Latin American Tax Handbook between the European Tax Centre, the Latin American Tax Center, and the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation.
• Led a team to develop an electronic tool to survey library users.
• Appointed Work Environment Initiative Local Action Committee Representative in South Florida.
• Promoted from Area Library Coordinator to Area Library Associate and relocated from Boston to Miami in 2003; originally responsible for library collections, acquisitions, vendor relations, and accounts in 13 Northeast area offices.
KPMG LLP - Boston, MA 03/200- - 10/2003
http://www.kpmg.com/
Northeast Area Library Coordinator
• Implemented integrated library system software in area libraries.
• Assisted in creating a collection development database on MS Access to track expenditures.
• Substantially decreased print purchases through resource sharing and eliminating duplicative materials.
• Developed electronic process for Partners to select and order professional literature annually that resulted in $60K savings in the Northeast in the first year, (project adopted firm wide).
• Piloted on-line access to tax literature platform in Northeast Area that resulted in over $25K cost savings in Northeast area and a wider distribution of resources, (project adopted firm wide).
• Coordinated and developed training programs for Lexis/Nexis, Westlaw, and other information platforms for professionals and support staff, (project adopted firm wide).
Education:
American Intercontinental University
• 2010 – Present, MBA – Project Management Concentration
Simmons College--Boston, MA
• Summer 2000; audited - Knowledge Management
• Summer 1999; audited- Management of Information Technology
• 1996-1998 MLIS, Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Boston College--Newton, MA
• 1984-1988 BA, College of Arts and Sciences: Double Major: English and Psychology
Hebrew University--Jerusalem, Israel
• Summer 1988 & summer 1990, Assistant Archaeological Field Supervisor and associated graduate level classes.
Leadership:
Georgia Leadership Institute – State Personnel Administration
• 2009 – The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Florida Library Leadership Program -- Tallahassee, FL
• 2005-2006 - Year-long comprehensive series of learning sessions that focuses on developing an understanding of leadership, within a conceptual framework and practical applications.
Certifications:
Emory University - Center for Lifelong Learning – Atlanta, GA
• 2008 - Emory University: Management Certification.
• Courses included: Essentials of Personnel Management, Win-Win Negotiations, Essentials of Supervision, Essentials of Motivation, and Essentials of Coaching for Managers.
New Horizons--Boston, MA
• 2002 - Certified Internet Webmaster – Foundation Fundamentals
• Courses included: Networking, Internet, and Web-Page Authoring Fundamentals.
Professional Memberships:
SLA Georgia Chapter Board Member 2009 - Present
Tennis Club II Condominium Association President, Fort Lauderdale, FL 2005-2006
Member: ALA, NASIG, CIP
Skills / Strengths:
• Lexis/Nexis, Westlaw, Factiva, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, & other information databases.
• Conversational French, some Spanish
• MS office: Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, SharePoint, Visio, and Project.
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