US-Colombia FTA allows duty & quota-free access to textile markets
06 Dec '06
2 min read
John Veroneau with Jorge Humberto Botero
The United States has signed a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia, the 10th such agreement passed under the president's trade promotion authority, which is set to expire in July 2007.
Both countries now will submit the agreement to their legislatures for approval.
The comprehensive agreement promises to strengthen economic ties between the United States and Colombia by eliminating tariffs and other barriers to goods and services and expanding trade between the two countries, according to U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab.
The agreement will offer new opportunities for U.S. "businesses, manufacturers, farmers and ranchers," and provide Colombia with "permanent access to the U.S. market, which will aid in sustaining real growth, creating more jobs and attracting new investment," said John Veroneau, deputy U.S. Trade Representative.
Veroneau signed the agreement November 22 on behalf of the United States with Colombian Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Jorge Humberto Botero in Washington.
The agreement has been endorsed by several U.S. trade groups including the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Association of Manufacturers and the National Council of Textile Organizations. However, a California beef trade group has expressed concern that if the agreement passes Congress, the U.S. market could be flooded with Colombia beef.
Other provisions of the agreement provide for:
• Duty- and quota-free access to both countries' textile markets, provided the products meet the agreement's rules of origin provisions;
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