Colombia signs free trade deal with 3 Central American partners

Colombia signs free trade deal with 3 Central American partners Colombia has signed a free trade agreement with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, a move expected to double Colombian exports to those countries within the next five years.
   'Colombia sees this becoming a bridge between Central and South America,' said Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, according to an Associated Press report from Medellin, where the presidents of all four countries gathered to sign the agreement.
   The free trade agreement will take effect in 2008, and will eliminate tariffs and taxes on 75 percent of industrial products and 72 percent of agricultural products traded between Colombia and the three Central American countries over a period of 10 years.
   Camilo Acevedo, president of the Colombian-Central American Chamber of Commerce, said Colombian exports to the Central American nations could reach $500 million in five years.
   In 2006, trade between the countries totaled $275 million. Of that, $250 million was from Colombian exports to Central America.