(Adds Solis quote)
CARTAGENA, Colombia, April 15 (Reuters) – The U.S.-Colombia
free trade agreement will enter into force next month, reducing
duties on American exports entering the South American country,
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said on Sunday.
The announcement came during the Summit of the Americas in
Colombia, where President Barack Obama has been meeting regional
political and business leaders including Colombian President
Juan Manuel Santos to push for greater access for U.S. exports.
Kirk told reporters in Colombia the free trade deal that
Obama signed in October would be implemented on May 15 – much
earlier than most had expected.
“We believe this is a very historic step,” Kirk said.
Colombia’s weak labor record, including murders and attacks
on union activists that were not investigated, held up the free
trade pact for years. Some U.S. unions had opposed the deal –
which was largely negotiated under former President George W.
Bush – on the grounds that Colombia lacked the capacity to
enforce worker protections.
In a Labor Action Plan signed a year ago, as a step toward
the trade deal, Colombia promised safeguards that labor
activists have demanded for years, including full-time police to
investigate crimes involving unions.
The decision to implement the trade deal in May reflects a
U.S. assessment that Colombia’s labor concerns have been
appropriately tackled, and an agreement between Obama and Santos
that other preparatory steps have been taken by both Bogota and
Washington.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said U.S. officials had been
working closely with Colombia on labor rights issues over the
last year and the United States believes there has been
“remarkable progress.”
“However, we do know that there still remain challenges,
just like any new plan,” Solis added.
Colombia already has duty-free access to the United States
for most goods under longtime U.S. trade preference programs.
When implemented, the deal will eliminate most of the duties
Colombia now imposes on American farming and manufactured goods.
(Reporting By Laura MacInnis; Editing by Eric Beech and Sandra
Maler)
