On November 22, the U.S. and Colombia signed a free trade agreement which was worth billions of dollars. This is the result of two years of negotiation between the United States and Colombia.
This agreement is the largest-scale agreement singed in the Western hemisphere since the United States singed North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994. According to the agreement, over 80% of U.S. exports will enjoy zero-tariff to Colombia. The bilateral trade volume between Colombia and the United States last year reached 14.3 billion U.S. dollars.
However, this agreement has not yet been approved by the U.S. Congress. Besides, similar agreements between the United States and Peru and Vietnam are also pending in the U.S. Congress. At the same time, U.S. trade officials are still negotiating with Malaysia and South Korea on free trade agreements.
U.S. President Bush has the administrative authority to speed up approval of trade agreements. However, this privilege would expire on June 30, 2007.At that time, Congress will regain the rights to amend or reject any agreement singed by president. Therefore, the United States government hopes to complete the agreement within next few months.
