U.S. races EU, Canada for Colombia FTA

U.S. races EU, Canada for Colombia FTA    U.S. exporters could soon lose sales to competitors in Europe and Canada if Congress doesn't pass a free trade agreement with Colombia this year, a top U.S. negotiator said Tuesday.
   The Bush administration has argued that the trade pact will even the playing field for U.S. shippers by lowering and eliminating duty rates in the South American country — benefits Colombian exporters already enjoy in the U.S. market. Under the Andean Trade Preferences Agreement renewed by Congress last year, 90 percent of Colombian goods enter the United States duty free. The White House also said the free trade agreement is important from a foreign policy standpoint to show support for a country that is successfully fighting narco-terrorists and improving its democracy after years of violence.
   Deputy U.S. Trade Representative John Veroneau raised the stakes further at the spring conference of the American Association of Port Authorities, saying U.S. exporters could be at a competitive disadvantage if Colombia first signs free trade agreements with other countries. Colombia is negotiating trade deals with the European Union and Canada.
   Not passing the free trade agreement would be a missed opportunity to secure equitable treatment for U.S. exports and open the door for competitors to make market gains at the expense of U.S. companies, he noted.
   'If we don't move quickly those products will be going in duty free to Colombia,' making U.S. goods relatively more expensive and less desirable to Colombia's 44 million consumers, Veroneau said. ' Eric Kulisch