Canada 's Parliament has given final approval to legislation implementing the country's bilateral free trade agreement with Colombia . The FTA will become effective as soon as Colombia 's legislature completes its own ratification process.
Canadian International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan said the approval clears the way for increased trade with a key market in South America . "The agreement demonstrates our government's commitment to an ambitious free trade agenda," he said. "The agreement will benefit Canada's producers and exporters, reduce or eliminate tariffs on nearly all current Canadian exports, and provide a more predictable, transparent, and rules-based trading environment for Canadian investors."
The United States signed a free trade agreement with Colombia on Nov. 22, 2006 , but it has not been submitted to Congress because of Democratic and union opposition to the violence against labor leaders in Colombia .
In related news, the U.S. National Foreign Trade Council says approval by the Canadian Parliament of the Canada-Colombia FTA "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 their economic relations with one of the most important allies we have in Latin America."
In a statement, NFTC Vice President Chuck Dittrich noted that with respect to agriculture: "We are already losing ground in the Colombian market. 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."
U.S. Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers said the Canada-Colombia FTA will give Canada "an immediate price advantage in a market where U.S. wheat exports had earned a dominant market share." In addition, say the two organizations in a statement, " It means that U.S. wheat producers could lose sales worth $70 million today to Canada at a time when they can least afford it."
