ISDS Case Map
Colombia
Harper says that workers' protection has been written into the trade deal. But whether these stipulations will be enforced is another story.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe agreed Saturday to launch talks on a treaty to increase protection of their bilateral investments, a Japanese official said.
Canada and Colombia signed a free-trade agreement in Lima, the Peruvian capital, on Friday.
Sign-on declaration demanding the European Union and the Governments of Peru and Colombia not to desintegrate the Andean Community of Nations.
U.S. corn growers could face a significant trade barrier in Colombia as a result of an increased import duty, imposed by the Colombian government this week, from a current 5 percent to 25 percent.
Colombian U'wa indigenous leaders visit US, urging investors and US Congress to respect human rights
The U'wa called attention to indigenous mobilizations in Colombia where some 15,000 are marching to Bogota -- to protest their government's backsliding on indigenous land rights in attempt to make way for the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
"During your historic campaign, you publicly noted some of what Colombians currently face: you acknowledged the murders of trade unionists by the regime and stated your reservations about a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia, which our people have decided against through a democratic referendum. We thank you for this, and now want you to know about the specific situation facing Colombia's indigenous peoples."
The US free trade agreement with Colombia is back in the spotlight, after President Bush allegedly conditioned his support for a bailout of the auto industry on the Democrats dropping their opposition to the FTA.
Ratification by the United States Congress of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Colombia appears to be further away than ever, due to the victory of president-elect Barack Obama, who has declared his opposition to the treaty, and to the effects of the financial crisis.
This column has expressed plenty of concern about the selection of Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel to serve as President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff. Emanuel, whose record and reputation are those of a rigid "New Democrat," was the pointman for the Clinton White House's free-trade agenda. And, in Congress, he has been a reasonably steady supporter of the Bush administration's trade policies.
