WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The United States and Colombia yesterday failed to resolve labor and violence concerns blocking approval of a bilateral free trade agreement and other trade legislation but agreed to meet again soon for more talks.
“Senior officials from USTR and the Colombian government continued their engagement on issues related to the pending trade agreement between the countries. They agreed to meet again in Washington, D.C., within two weeks,” said Nkenge Harmon, spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk told senators on Wednesday the Obama administration would not send the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement to Congress for a vote until the two sides resolved “serious outstanding concerns regarding the protection of internationally recognized labor rights, violence against labor leaders and the prosecution of perpetrators.”
The pact was signed between the two countries in November 2006 but never approved because of those concerns.
That has frustrated Republicans, and some Democrats such as Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, who say Colombia has made substantial progress on those issues.
Senator Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has vowed to block action on a separate free trade agreement with South Korea unless the White House also sends trade deals with Colombia and Panama for a vote.
The bickering over the free trade deals also has complicated congressional efforts to renew two recently expired trade-preference programs for developing countries, as well as expired retraining benefits under the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance programs for workers who have lost their jobs because of foreign competition.
Thea Lee, a top official at the AFL-CIO labor federation, on Friday expressed doubt the Obama administration could strike a deal that would resolve the group’s concerns about “conditions on the ground in Colombia.”
“The administration cannot predict, nor can we, how long it will take for real progress to be made on violence, impunity, and labor law reform. We are skeptical that these concerns can be addressed in a short time frame,” Lee said.
However, Kirk told the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday he was optimistic the two sides could find a way forward on the issues and a U.S. trade official said progress had been made in the talks this week.
In addition, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the President’s Export Council yesterday that it was in the United States’ interest to pass the agreement.
