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Colombia

Politics of delay on Colombia pact
6-Jul-2009 Politico
President Barack Obama keeps punting on the touchy issue of free trade — and it’s driving both opponents and supporters just a little bit crazy. The mixed message on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement is a case in point.
Obama ’confident’ FTA with Colombia will go ahead
30-Jun-2009 Colombia Reports
US President Barack Obama said Monday following a meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, that he is confident that a free trade agreement with Colombia can ultimately be reached.
Many US House Democrats want trade policy revamp
25-Jun-2009 Washington Post
Political pressure grew on President Barack Obama to reconsider pending trade deals with Panama, Colombia and South Korea as over 100 lawmakers called on Wednesday for a massive revamp of US trade policy.
Peruvian violence prompts concerns over Canada’s push for free trade deals
24-Jun-2009 Embassy Magazine
While a great deal of scrutiny has been directed toward Canada’s free trade agreement with Colombia, there has been little said about a similar deal with Peru. In fact, last Wednesday, on one of the final days of Parliament, that agreement barely made a ripple as it quietly received Royal Assent.
Harper touts free trade, shies away from terrorism reports in Colombia talks
11-Jun-2009 Montreal Gazette
As he blasted the "ideological" opponents of his free-trade deal with Colombia, Prime Minister Stephen Harper played down recent reports of a Colombian terrorism infiltration into Canada.
Stalled but not dead: Update on the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
5-Jun-2009 rabble
The Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) was withdrawn from the table while being debated for its second reading in Canadian Parliament on May 27, 2009. Stalled for now, the CCFTA will certainly be back: it has not been defeated, and its proponents (the Conservatives and some of the Liberals) await an opportunity to bring it back.
Colombia FTA to become reality: US Chamber of Commerce
4-Jun-2009 Colombia News
A free trade agreement between Colombia and the United States will become a reality and is just a matter of time, the President of the US Chamber of Commerce, Thomas J. Donahue, said.
Canada-Colombia FTA removed from legislative agenda: Canada steps towards dignity
29-May-2009
Public pressure has forced a victory in the fight to stop the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA). Sources from Canada’s three opposition parties have confirmed that the ruling Conservative Party has removed Bill C-23, implementing legislation for the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, from the government’s current legislative agenda.
Free trade agreements pushed by Grassley, pork produce
27-May-2009 Brownfield
The National Pork Producers Council is pushing for passage of the Panama Free Trade Agreement, saying it will level the playing field for U.S. pork producers.
Soy group checks out Central, South American markets
27-May-2009 Farm Futures
The pending free trade agreement for Colombia could increase market access for soy products, but what would the impact really be? That was one of the goals of a fact-finding mission conducted by two US soybean farmers that participated in a Free Trade Agreement fact-finding mission to the South American country last week.
Free trade agreement with Colombia under pressure
26-May-2009 Geneva Lunch
Citing “serious and systematic” human rights violations in Colombia, 33 non-governmental organizations led by Alliance Sud, the Berne Declaration and the Swiss Working Group on Colombia sent a letter 12 May to deputies urging them not to ratify the trade agreement between the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), of which Switzerland is a member, and Colombia.
Colombia commits "crimes against humanity" as free trade pacts are debated
14-May-2009 Huffington Post
Despite the claims of the Colombian government and those in the U.S., Canada and the EU eager to consummate "free trade" pacts with that regime, the human rights situation in that country is deteriorating fast. Indeed, by key measures — the killing of unionists, extra-judicial killings by the military, and the forced displacement of civilians — Colombia’s human rights situation is amongst the worst in the world and getting worse. In the case of union killings, it remains the very worst.
Activists oppose Igantieff’s support of CCFTA
9-May-2009 Hour
Despite calls from labour and human rights organizations across Canada, on May 1 Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff announced that the party would support the ratification of a proposed Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA).
Human rights no block to EU-Colombia talks
6-May-2009 EU Observer
As the European Union this week launches another round of negotiations with Colombia on a free trade agreement, trade unionists who live daily under the gun of right-wing paramilitaries linked to the government have in Brussels in the last week pleaded with the EU executive to suspend the talks.
Canada-Colombia free trade agreement could be a lose-lose deal
2-May-2009 COHA
Canada gambled on a losing strategy: that free trade will inherently bring democracy to what some would consider a lawless society. Ottawa should only have looked to its neighbor in Washington to see the futility of this approach.
EU urged not to sign FTA with Colombia
1-May-2009 Columbia Reports
Colombian, American, and European union workers pressed the European Parliament not to sign a free trade agreement with Colombia if human rights don’t improve here.
The US-Colombia FTA and national insecurity: A call for ethical foreign policy
29-Apr-2009 Upside Down World
United States foreign trade policies should insist on seeking more ethical economic practices which do not rely on the exploitation of lives and environmental resources, but which thrive off of sustainable relationships of production. Additionally, the United States should recognize the role it has historically played in protracting violence in Colombia, and the influence it has on Colombian forms of governance and economic policy
Lawmaker moves to delay free-trade pacts
23-Apr-2009 WSJ
A Democratic senator from Ohio is moving to further tie up pending US free-trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea, setting up a potential clash between President Barack Obama and some members of his party.
Obama urged not to sign Colombia FTA
23-Apr-2009 Colombia Reports
US President Barack Obama will face opposition from his democratic colleagues if he asks Congress to approve a free trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia.
Activists protest Colombia FTA outside White House
22-Apr-2009 Colombia Reports
Close to one hundred activists gathered outside the White House Monday, asking President Obama to make a radical change to the US’s political relationship with Colombia.