Colombia, US resume FTA talks
Prensa Latina, 13 Feb 2006
Colombia, US Resume FTA Talks
Bogota, Feb 13 (Prensa Latina) Colombia and the US have set up the 14th negotiation round of the Free Trade Agreement Monday in Washington, with President Alvaro Uribe heading the talks for Colombia.
Local analysts agree the Colombian president’s trip is a sign of the executive’s willingness to reach the agreement as soon as possible.
The question for experts is up to where the Colombian government will give in to reach the deal, which many Colombian people agree will be harmful to sign the way it is.
There is also a lot of expectation as to whether Uribe’s presence in the talks will make the US negotiators change the inflexible stance maintained since the beginning of talks in May 2004.
Agricultural subsidies and copyright issues are precisely the most complex topics in the agreement, as there has been practically no progress around such vulnerable issues for Colombia.
Colombians opposing the deal sustain thousands of agricultural jobs will disappear, and hundreds of small and middle agriculture-related companies will go bankrupt.
A considerable number of Colombians said they will demand Congress candidates to publicly announce their stance over the signing of the agreement, and will sanction those supporting it.
Even if the Colombian president signs the agreement, it is up to Congress whether to pass it or not, that is why it is so important to have a large majority opposing it.
