bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

Colombia

Bush scolds Congress on Colombia trade
14-Apr-2008
President Bush stepped up pressure Monday on Congress to approve a controversial free-trade pact with Colombia, saying the deal is "dead" unless House Speaker Nancy Pelosi schedules a vote.
Eating seed corn not always tasty
14-Apr-2008 TH
US farm and ranch voices avoid singing same tune on US-Colombia trade proposal
US House agrees to shelve Colombia trade pact vote
11-Apr-2008 Nasdaq
The US House of Representatives voted 224-195 Thursday to effectively postpone a vote on the US-Colombia trade agreement until House Democratic leaders decide to bring it to the floor. US Trade Representative Susan Schwab told reporters the House action " effectively kills the Colombia FTA."
US-Colombia pact may affect Korea-US FTA
10-Apr-2008
U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday announced a plan to submit a U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement to the U.S. Congress for ratification, despite opposition from the Democratic Party, which is opposing FTA deals. Attention is now drawn to how the U.S. debate on the proposed Colombia deal will affect the Korea-U.S. FTA.
Colombia Trade Deal Splits Clintons
9-Apr-2008
The presidential campaign of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that her husband, the former president, supports a free trade agreement with Colombia that she strenuously opposes.
White House and Democrats clash over trade pact
9-Apr-2008
The dispute between the White House and Democrats on the economy escalated sharply Wednesday over a surprise move by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to scrap the House’s rules and hold hostage a trade accord sought by the administration until President Bush agrees to more economic relief for Americans.
Clinton aide met on trade deal
5-Apr-2008 WSJ
Hillary Clinton’s chief campaign strategist met with Colombia’s ambassador to the US on Monday to discuss a bilateral free-trade agreement, a pact the presidential candidate opposes. Mark Penn wasn’t there in his campaign role, but in his separate job as chief executive of Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, an international lobbying firm. The firm has a contract with Colombia to promote congressional approval of the trade deal.
The specious "national security" argument
26-Mar-2008 IRC Americas Program
In the past week the Bush administration has unearthed a "national security" justification for passage of the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement that can’t be allowed to stand.
Colombian union leader builds opposition to free trade deal
25-Mar-2008 Workday Minnesota
Edgar Paez considers himself fortunate to be able to campaign across the United States this month against the proposed US-Colombia free trade deal. Twenty-two members of his union - assassinated for their activism - weren’t so lucky.
Emerson defends Colombia, says Korea trade talks could fail
24-Mar-2008
Free trade talks between Canada and South Korea have hit some serious roadblocks and could end in failure, Trade Minister David Emerson said Tuesday.
The Colombia trap
17-Mar-2008 AlterNet
There have been a lot of surprising developments in recent days on the Colombia FTA, most recently with Dem leadership seeming to be suggesting that there could be a vote on the Colombia FTA if there is more trade adjustment assistance. (As we’ve argued before, it’s hard to get all worked up for TAA, because it is highly inadequate to the scope of the problem, but that’s for another time.)
Change to Win urges Congress to reject Colombia free trade agreement
12-Mar-2008 Sun Herald
Change to Win released a print ad today demanding the United States Congress reject the Colombia Free Trade Agreement deal that the Bush administration is threatening to send to Congress in the coming weeks despite strong opposition.
White House eyes new trade war
12-Mar-2008 Politico
The White House is moving toward sending the Colombia Free Trade Agreement to Congress without the blessing of Democratic leaders. Already, a coalition of business groups pushing for the trade deal is forming “war rooms” and ramping up lobbying efforts in anticipation of the coming battle.
USTR Schwab: "Time is now" on Colombia trade pact
6-Mar-2008
U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab told Congress on Thursday "the time is now" to approve a free trade agreement with Colombia, signaling a fight with lawmakers seeking stronger rights for workers.
Bush urges Congress to pass Colombia trade pact
4-Mar-2008
President George W. Bush urged U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday to put aside differences over a free trade agreement with Colombia and approve the pact to show support for a strong U.S. ally at the center of a crisis in Latin America.
US-Colombia pact mired in row over labour abuses
4-Mar-2008 IPS
"Even if Colombia had a sterling record on human rights, if there were no assassinations of trade unionists, the Colombia free trade agreement would still be a bad idea," said Economic Policy Institute global policy director Tony Avirgan.
House approves trade pact extension
28-Feb-2008
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a 10-month extension of a trade program aimed at promoting imports from four Andean nations and thus discouraging the cultivation and production of illegal drugs.
US labor leaders to Bush: No trade deal with murderers
16-Feb-2008 PWW
Top labor leaders ended a trip to Colombia Feb. 13 by telling that country’s president, Alvaro Uribe, that American unions will not support the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement until the killing of union members by right-wing death squads there is put to a stop.
Why Afro-Colombians oppose the Colombia FTA
8-Feb-2008 The Hill
The US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement is considered a non-starter in the US Congress because the country is the world’s deadliest for union activists. Less known, but equally disturbing is the systematic violence now confronting Afro-Colombians.
Stephen Harper’s bizarre logic of free trade with Colombia
14-Jan-2008 NUPGE
How can Canada denounce human rights abuses in China while turning a blind eye to the mass political murder of trade unionists in Colombia?