US Legislators to discuss FTA with Colombian President
Thursday, January 28, 2010
By Manuel Rueda, Editorial Director
On Saturday, President Uribe will with meet a delegation of four US Congressmen at his ranch in the state of Cordoba to drum up support for the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
The Colombian government has been lobbying the US Congress to approve a free trade deal for the past two years and Uribe said that in this week´s meeting he will “tell them" -- the delegation -- " with all honesty and solidarity that we need this treaty to be approved soon.”
Uribe has said that Colombia deserves a free trade deal because of its advances on the war on drugs and he argues that free trade with the US will help Colombia to continue to fight drug trafficking. But democrats on Capitol Hill posed stiff resistance to a free trade deal with Colombia last year, claiming the country first needed to clean up its human rights record.
The Colombian government is expected to make a push for the approval of the FTA in the first half of 2010, and according to the local newspaper El TIEMPO, this meeting will be the first of a series of direct dialogues between the Colombian president and American legislators.
This week´s delegation includes New York representative Eliot Engel, who directs the house subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, as well as Chris Mc Mullen, the Deputy Asisstant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs.
Colombian analysts are not very confident that the FTA will be approved early this year. “The US is not experiencing the most favorable economic climate to insist on a free trade deal,” said Andrés Molano-Rojas, a professor at Bogota´s El Rosario University.
The FTA is opposed by US unions who fear it will lead to a loss of well-paid manufacturing jobs. Political analysts say its approval will be hampered by congressional elections taking place later this year, claiming that lawmakers who face re-election, will not want to discuss -- or vote on -- this controversial deal.
You must be logged in to post comments.
Sign in or create an account to continue.
-
- September 8, 2010 Blog Posts
Colombian Culture
General Blog
-
- September 8, 2010 Blog Posts
Colombian Culture
General Blog
-
- September 6, 2010 Blog Posts
Colombian Culture
General Blog
WoW Spotlight
-
- September 20, 2010
-
Fans of Cuban musicians the Buena Vista Social Club will be excited to hear that one of their most popular members, Omara Portuondo, will be giving a concert in Bogotá on October 1st.
"Feeling's Girlfriend" and "The Voice of Cuba" are just two of the nicknames given to the singer, who has been performing for over fifty years.
WoW News
-
- September 20, 2010
U.S. President Barack Obama will meet his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos for the first time on September 24th in New York, at a United Nations General Assembly meeting.
The two leaders plan to have a conversation about the future relationship between the two countries.