Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement
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The United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, in Colombia called Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLC), is a bilateral commercial treaty, whose objectives are eliminating obstacles to trade, consolidating access to goods and services and favoring private investment in and between both nations. Apart from commercial issues, it incorporates economic, insitutional, intellectual-property, labor and environmental policies, among others.
The U.S. and Colombia concluded the agreement, sometimes referred to as the "CTPA", on 23 February and finalized its text on 8 July 2006[1]. It is currently pending ratification by the United States Congress.
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[edit] Ratification
On 22 November 2006 deputy U.S. Trade Representative John Veroneau signed the Agreement on behalf of the United States[2]. The agreement now faces the difficult challenge of ratification in the U.S. Congress.
The Trade Act of 2002 requires the ITC to prepare a report that assesses the likely impact of proposed free trade agreements on the U.S. economy as a whole and on specific industry sectors and the interests of U.S. consumers.
[edit] Antecedents
The CTPA has an antecedent in the Andean Trade Preference and Drug Enforcement Act (ATPDEA), which replaced the expired Andean Trade Preferences Act (ATPA). ATPDEA was enacted by U.S. President George W. Bush on 6 August 2002, granting Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru preferential tariff treatment for eligible products.[3] It is set to expire on 31 December 2006.
