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Colombia

Free-trade discord takes toll on flower importers
2-Jul-2011
Since Valentine’s Day, Miami flower importers have watched their expenses climb, contending with rising fuel prices and surcharges and, most vexing of all, the expiration of an Andean trade program that allowed them to bring in flowers from Colombia and Ecuador without paying duties.
More than 400 NGOs sign petition against FTA
24-Jun-2011 Colombia Reports
431 NGOs from Colombia and the U.S. signed a petition against the pending Free Trade Agreement, reported Caracol Radio Thursday.
The unanswered questions surrounding the US-Colombia FTA
23-Jun-2011 Huffington Post
We should all be asking our policymakers some tough questions, like: What will they do when the FTA is passed and it devastates Colombian small-scale farmers and leads to a surge in coca cultivation? What will they do when the FTA is passed and there is an increase in forced displacement? What will they do after the FTA is approved and trade unionists and human rights defenders continue to be threatened and killed?
Administration wants to send trade pacts to Congress before recess
21-Jun-2011
The Obama administration hopes to send all three pending free trade agreements — Colombia, Panama, and Korea — to Congress before the August recess.
Colombia violating FTA labor agreements through union reprisals: US Union
21-Jun-2011 Colombia Reports
Vale Coal Colombia has been violating the Labor Action Plan between the United States and Colombia, a requisite of the pending free trade agreement, through threats and reprisals against unionists in the northern department of Cesar, according to U.S. trade union United Steelworkers (USW).
Activists protest possible Colombia trade deal
14-Jun-2011 ABC
Religious and peace activists are demanding that President Obama keep a campaign promise to oppose a trade deal with a South American nation.
Critics call trade pact lose-lose deal for Colombian labour
10-Jun-2011 IPS
Two days ago, on Jun. 7, Ana Fabricia Cordoba was killed in the Santa Cruz neighbourhood of Medellin, Colombia. Her assassination coincides with renewed efforts by free-trade advocates in Washington to pressure the US Congress to pass the long-debated US-Colombia FTA.
Machinists union launches fair trade campaign on Facebook
9-Jun-2011
Countering GOP demands for the passage of three seriously-flawed trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) today launched a targeted, informational ad campaign on Facebook.
US florists join Asocolflores in trade deal push
2-Jun-2011
The Society of American Florists, the umbrella organisation for the flower industry in the US, has supported the announcement that the US and Colombia have reached an agreement to help clear a path toward final Congressional approval of the US/Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
California fighting back on Colombia free trade act
25-May-2011 California Progress Report
California, with its 53 Members of Congress, is key to stopping these FTAs and protecting worker power both in the US and abroad.
Colombian FTA with Switzerland starts July 1
23-May-2011
Colombia’s free trade agreement with Switzerland will enter into force from July 1, making the European nation the first developed country to sign such an agreement with Colombia.
Chiquita & the Colombia FTA — Murder in the interest of profit
17-May-2011 Huffington Post
Recent documents obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University from the US Justice Department show that Chiquita Brands International, in direct contradiction of the claims of both Chiquita and the US government for many years, made illegal payments to both guerrilla groups and then AUC death squads over the course of about 14 years in return for security from these groups.
White House threatens to hold up key trade deals
16-May-2011
The White House is threatening to hold up final passage of three coveted free trade agreements unless lawmakers expand retraining assistance for American workers who lose their jobs because of foreign competition.
Disagreements hold up free trade agreements
13-May-2011 Watertown
The American Farm Bureau Federation supports the proposed US free trade agreements with Korea, Panama and Colombia, while the National Farmers Union is opposed.
Congress poised to pass Colombia deal: Baucus
11-May-2011
A top senator said on Wednesday he expected Congress to soon pass a free trade agreement with Colombia despite the continued strong opposition of the largest U.S. labor group.
Trading away financial stability: Capital controls and the US-Colombia trade agreement
8-May-2011 justinvestment.org
Kevin Gallagher demonstrates that the "reworked" US-Colombia agreement has not been reworked to reflect the need to ensure that nations have the ability to prevent and mitigate financial crises.
Colombian free trade deal ignores violence, faces Colombian resistance
13-Apr-2011 Uprising
Congress is poised to ratify a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia in spite of vehement opposition both here in the US and in Colombia.
FTA with Canada operational within 3 months: Minister
13-Apr-2011 Canada Reports
Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin stated Monday that the free trade agreement between Colombia and Canada should be operational within the next two to three months.
Colombia: workers, students protest FTA, privatization
13-Apr-2011 WW4 Report
In Colombia’s largest demonstration since President Juan Manuel Santos took office last August, tens of thousands of unionists, students and teachers demonstrated throughout the country on April 7 to protest a free trade agreement with the US and proposed changes in the education system that they say will lead to privatization.
Colombia deal could go to US Congress in weeks
12-Apr-2011 Reuters
The White House could send a free trade pact with Colombia to Congress for approval within weeks now that a bilateral agreement on labor concerns has been reached, a top US official said on Monday.