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Colombia

Colombian study on impact of US FTA on medicine
12-Mar-2007 FTA Malaysia
This is an English translation of a full study done in Colombia of the impacts of its US free trade agreement (FTA) on medicine consumption and the Colombian generic industry. The study study used the World Health Organization’s methodology.
Anti-labor violence in Colombia imperils US free trade pact
7-Mar-2007 IHT
More than 800 trade unionists have been killed in Colombia over the past six years, by government count, yet the number of those murders solved can be counted on one hand.
Lawmaker rejects USTR proposal on trade pacts
6-Mar-2007
A Bush administration proposal aimed at winning Democratic party support for free trade agreements with Peru, Colombia and Panama falls short of what is needed to strengthen the labor provisions of those pacts, a Democratic lawmaker said on Monday.
Lawmaker rejects USTR proposal on trade pacts
6-Mar-2007 Reuters
A Bush administration proposal aimed at winning Democratic party support for free trade agreements with Peru, Colombia and Panama falls short of what is needed to strengthen the labor provisions of those pacts, a Democratic lawmaker said on Monday. It "misses the point" and shifts the focus from improving conditions for workers to a legalistic debate over whether a foreign country’s law are equivalent to those of the United States, he said.
Labor sees Bush trade talks with Congress failing
25-Feb-2007 Reuters
The Bush administration is unlikely to reach a deal with the Democratic-led Congress to salvage free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and Peru, the AFL-CIO said on Friday.
US "free trade": Death, drugs and despair in Colombia
23-Feb-2007 Huffington Post
The so-called "free trade" deal between Colombia and the US would likely displace hundreds of thousands of poor rural Colombians from their lands, sending them into far deeper economic despair-and forcing many of them to work for the very groups that violently displaced them from their lands. You can not make this agreement—or any similar past agreement—better by tinkering around the edges.
An open letter to US Congress from the Colombian Oil Workers Union regarding the FTA
20-Feb-2007 Mingas
Our organization, the Colombian Oil Workers Union (USO), knows of your interest regarding the Colombian government’s record on human, labor and union rights within the framework of current discussions about a Free Trade Agreement between Colombia and the United States. We wish to inform you that our Colombian Oil Workers Union (USO), an affiliate of our national labor federation CUT, has been the constant target of government attacks which we summarize below.
US/Colombia free trade agreement seems ever more distant
19-Feb-2007 MercoPress
The free trade agreement which the George Bush administration signed with Colombia is stalled in the US Congress and could face further delays because of the alleged links of the Colombian President Alvaro Uribe administration with para military forces.
Colombian "para-political" scandal may hurt trade
17-Feb-2007 Reuters
A scandal over suspected Colombian government links to illegal right-wing militias could hamper President Alvaro Uribe’s bid to clinch a free-trade deal with the United States.
Colombian president asks congress to fast track FTA with US
7-Feb-2007 Dow Jones
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Tuesday asked Congress to fast track a free trade agreement with the US, saying prompt approval is a "necessity" because the US is Colombia’s main trading partner.
Joseph Stiglitz defends public ownership
7-Feb-2007 Periódico 26
The Nobel prizewinner said he believes neither Colombia nor the United States needs a Free Trade Agreement. “It’s not necessary. One of the problems is that within these treaties there isn’t really much commerce. They are mainly about protection of investments and intellectual property that will make it harder for Colombians to acquire medicines that can save their lives,” Stiglitz said.
New anti-FTA protests in Colombia
22-Jan-2007 Prensa Latina
Senator Jorge Robledo announced on Sunday new demonstrations against the congressional approval of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the governments of Colombia and the US.
Letter from RECALCA to US Rep Charles Rangel
19-Jan-2007 Mingas
As a coalition of union, environmental, peasant, and small business organizations, communities of Afro-Colombians and indigenous people, and women’s and human rights groups, we would like to give you our views about some of the impacts that the US-Colombia FTA will have on Colombia.
US will re-negotiate free trade deals
17-Jan-2007 NewsMax.com Wires
The Bush administration said Wednesday it will renegotiate the language covering labor rights in free trade agreements it has reached with Peru, Colombia and Panama, in order to get the deals approved by the new Democratic Congress. The three countries have already been notified.
In Colombia, free trade means murder and migration
16-Jan-2007 New America Media
If ratified by Congress, the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which President Bush and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe signed in mid-November, could lead to more hydropower and mining projects in Colombia — and more displacement and violence.
Spain and Colombia sign strategic association accord
10-Jan-2007 IHT
The Spanish and Colombian governments said Tuesday they had signed a strategic association accord aimed at boosting bilateral contacts and cooperation in economic, political and cultural areas.
Trade deal ignites Colombia House
10-Jan-2007 Prensa Latina
The approval of the free trade agreement between Colombia and the US is expected to generate hot congressional debates in Bogota, due to its rejection by businesspeople, farmers, and some congress people.
Peru, Colombia trade deals would lock in more bad investment rules
18-Dec-2006 FPIF
The investment rules in the Colombia and Peru trade pacts with the US deserve special scrutiny. They grant protections for private foreign investors that are virtually identical to those in NAFTA, CAFTA and myriad bilateral investment treaties signed over the past two decades. And yet these countries are being pulled on board at a time of a dramatic awakening about these rules’ potential for harm.
US-Colombia trade agreement must face Congress
23-Nov-2006 MercoPress
United States signed Wednesday a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia. The agreement must now face approval by both countries legislatures.
Colombia: Concern over US free trade deal and tariff benefits
22-Nov-2006 IPS
Indigenous and black people, trade unionists and victims of the armed conflict in Colombia are preparing to fight the ratification of the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, which will be signed by the trade ministers of both countries Wednesday in Washington.