Canada-Colombia FTA worries U.S. industry

Canada-Colombia FTA worries U.S. industry    The Canadian government Wednesday signed the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement into law, evoking calls by U.S. industry for the White House to press for the passage of a similar FTA between the United States and the South American country.
   'The news coming out of Canada is a stunning reminder that while we stand still on the trade pact we signed with Colombia in 2006, our competitors are aggressively seizing opportunities to strengthen economic relations with one of the most important allies we have in Latin America,' said Bill Reinsch, president of the Washington-based National Foreign Trade Council, in a statement.

Reinsch

   Trade groups voiced support earlier this week over the Obama administration's announcement last weekend that it intends to press for congressional approval of the U.S.-South Korea FTA. The United States has also negotiated a FTA with Panama.
   'With respect to agriculture, we are already losing ground in the Colombian market,' warned Chuck Dittrich, NFTC's vice president for regional trade initiatives. 'Just last year, Colombian imports of U.S. corn, wheat and soybean meal declined 60 percent, due in large part to the Mercosur agreement's full entry into force. To make matters worse, we are in direct competition with Canada to sell our wheat, barley and pork to Colombia.
   'As the U.S.-Colombia FTA continues to sit on the backburner, our exporters are facing high tariffs on these goods, while Canadian exporters will benefit from the phasing out and zeroing out of tariffs,' Dittrich added. 'Our farmers cannot afford to continue to lose market share, nor can our manufacturers and service providers. We urge the president to take action now.'