Most observers have long ago concluded that a proposed free trade agreement between the United States and Colombia could provide a significant boost to U.S. farm exports.
Currently, U.S. agricultural exports do not enjoy duty-free access to the Colombian market; while under the Andean Trade Preference Act, over 99.9 percent of Colombia 's agricultural exports enter the U.S. market duty free.
If the agreement is ratified by the U.S. Congress, observers say many agricultural commodities will benefit from the agreement as more than half of current U.S. farm exports to Colombia will become duty-free immediately and the remaining tariffs will be eliminated within 15 years.
Upon implementation of the agreement, U.S. agricultural exports will receive duty-free treatment on nearly 52 percent of current trade and will see all tariffs phased out for the remaining products. And, Colombia 's preferential treatment would be made permanent. Colombia would immediately eliminate duties on imports of wheat, barley, soybeans, soybean meal and flour, high quality beef, bacon, almost all fruit and vegetable products, wheat, peanuts, whey, cotton and the vast majority of processed products.
The agreement also provides duty-free tariff rate quotas on standard beef, chicken leg quarters, dairy products, corn, sorghum, animal feeds, rice and soybean oil.
On the regulatory side, Colombia has put in place import measures for meat and poultry that are consistent with regulations issued by the World Organization for Animal Health, and has addressed other sanitary and phytosanitary and technical standards issues. And, Colombia has agreed to recognize the equivalence of the U.S. meat and poultry inspection systems, a key step toward facilitating trade between the two nations.
The agreement was negotiated by the George W. Bush administration but has not yet been submitted to Congress for final approval because a number of Democrats have lingering concerns about labor laws in Colombia and with the protections given to labor union organizers there.
