The U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, or U.S. Colombia Trade
Promotion Agreement, as it is officially called, is a comprehensive
free trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and Colombia,
which will eventually eliminate tariffs and other barriers in
bilateral trade in goods and services. The agreement will enter
into force on May 15, 2012. On October 3, 2011, President Barack
Obama submitted draft legislation (H.R. 3078/S. 1641) to both
houses of Congress to implement the FTA. On October 12, 2011, the
House passed H.R. 3078 (262-167) and sent it to the Senate. The
Senate passed the implementing legislation (66-33) on the same day.
The agreement was signed by both countries almost five years
earlier, on November 22, 2006. The Colombian Congress approved it
in June 2007 and again in October 2007, after it was modified to
include new provisions agreed to in the May 10, 2007 bipartisan
understanding between congressional leadership and President George
W. Bush. Upon entry into force, the agreement will immediately
eliminate duties on 80% of U.S. exports of consumer and industrial
products to Colombia. Most remaining tariffs will be eliminated
within 10 years of implementation. The congressional debate
surrounding the CFTA mostly centered on violence, labor, and human
rights issues in Colombia. Numerous Members of Congress opposed
passage of the agreement because of concerns about alleged violence
against union members in Colombia, inadequate efforts to bring
perpetrators to justice, and weak protection of worker rights.
However, other Members of Congress supported the CFTA and took
issue with these charges, stating that Colombia had made great
progress over the last ten years to curb violence and enhance
security. They also argued that U.S. exporters were losing market
share of the Colombian market and that the agreement would open the
Colombian market for U.S. goods and services. For Colombia, an FTA
with the United States is part of its overall economic development
strategy. To address the concerns related to labor rights and
violence in Colombia, the United States and Colombia agreed upon an
"Action Plan Related to Labor Rights" that includes specific and
concrete steps, with specific timelines, most of which took place
in 2011. It contains numerous commitments by the Colombian
government to protect union members, end impunity, and improve
worker rights. The Colombian government submitted documents to the
United States in time to meet various target dates listed in the
Action Plan. The USTR reviewed the documents and determined that
Colombia had met its major commitments. The U.S. business community
generally supports the FTA with Colombia because it sees it as an
opportunity to increase U.S. exports to Colombia. U.S. exporters
urged U.S. policymakers to move forward with the agreement, arguing
that the United States was losing market share of the Colombian
market, especially in agriculture, as Colombia entered into FTAs
with other countries. Colombia's FTA with Canada, which was
implemented on August 15, 2011, was of particular concern for U.S.
agricultural producers. The United States is Colombia's leading
trade partner. Colombia accounts for a very small percentage of
U.S. trade (1.0% in 2011), ranking 22nd among U.S. export markets
and 23rd as a supplier of U.S. imports. Economic studies on the
impact of a U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (FTA) have found
that, upon full implementation of an agreement, the impact on the
United States would be positive but very small due to the small
size of the Colombian economy when compared to that of the United
States (about 2.2%).
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