Colombia-US FTA may distort Venezuelan market
El Universal, Caracas, Friday February 17 , 2006
Colombia-US FTA may distort Venezuelan market
Minister of Industry and Trade Gustavo Márquez thinks that an eventual Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by Colombia and the United States could result in unfair competition to the detriment of Venezuelan commodities.
Colombian goods would become more competitive than Venezuelan items, and up to 40 percent of Venezuelan-Colombian trade could be damaged, according to Andean Community estimates.
"The execution may create distortion between Colombia and Venezuela. We are weighing this impact to prevent an adverse effect on our productive sector and move forward to Mercosur," the senior official pointed out.
Márquez deems it necessary "institutional redefinition and creation of community standards on dispute resolution towards unity of nations."
The Ministry of Industry and Trade will assess over the next few days a number of scenarios to anticipate actions in order to lessen the impact of a possible US-Colombian agreement.
