Colombia finalizes FTA with EU
Colombia Reports | Monday, 01 March 2010
Colombia finalizes FTA with EU
Elyssa Pachico
Colombia concluded negotiations on Monday for a free trade agreement with the European Union, after nine rounds of talks.
Trade Minister Luis Guillermo Plata said that the negotiations liberalized conditions for import of Colombia’s coffee, banana and sugar exports, while the EU asked for greater liberalization of European dairy, alcohol and car products. Other Colombian exports to be boosted by the agreement are rum, palm oil and chocolate.
Peru was also involved in the free trade negotiations, and could see the entry of 32,000 tons of sugar and 30,000 tons of rice into the European market thanks to the agreement.
Colombia is also set to begin free trade talks with Panama in March.
It is unclear whether Colombia’s free trade agreement with the United States will pass this year.
