at that time for Colombia:
Why is Colombia not in the Trans-Pacific Partnership?
By Carl Meacham
Jul 2, 2013
. . .
Q2: Why is Colombia not yet a member of the TPP?
A2: The reasons for Colombia's ongoing exclusion from the TPP are twofold.
On one hand, the states already part of the TPP—Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Peru, the United States, Vietnam, Canada, and Mexico—are all members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). While membership in APEC is not an official prerequisite to entry into the TPP, member states have expressed their reluctance to consider new TPP members excluded from APEC membership.
While Colombia has sought APEC membership since 1995 and has participated in the organization as an observer, it has yet to be admitted to the group. Given that TPP members prioritize the membership of fellow APEC states, Colombia's TPP membership aspirations have been largely put aside.
On the other hand, the United States, an active and instrumental TPP member, has the potential to sway the group in Colombia's favor and arguably stands to gain from doing so. The two countries have long enjoyed a fruitful partnership, and many are surprised that the North American giant has not lobbied for its South American ally.
However, much of the U.S. hesitance to push for Colombia's entry derives from its own priorities. In high-level meetings between Colombian officials and their White House counterparts, the Obama administration has expressed its preference to conclude the second round of TPP negotiations, scheduled for later this month, before rocking the boat by pushing for expanded membership.
This hesitation and the delays it has furthered, however frustrating for Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos and his administration, are particularly comprehensible in light of the TPP's preexisting skepticism regarding the entry of non-APEC members. For now, it seems Colombia will have to wait a bit longer.
More:
http://csis.org/publication/should-colombia-join-trans-pacific-partnership
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Wikipedia says:
. . .
Potential members[edit]
South Korea is not part of the initial agreement, but it has shown interest in entering the TPP,[16] and was invited to the TPP negotiating rounds by the US after the successful conclusion of its Free trade agreement between the United States of America and the Republic of Korea in December 2010.[17] South Korea already has bilateral trade agreements with some TPP members, but areas such as vehicle manufacturing and agriculture still need to be agreed upon, making further multilateral TPP negotiations somewhat complicated.[18] South Korea may join the TPP as part of a second wave of expansion for the trade agreement.[19]
Other countries interested in TPP membership include Taiwan,[20] the Philippines,[21] Laos,[22] Colombia,[23] and Indonesia.[24] Other potential future members include Cambodia,[25] Bangladesh[26] and India.[27]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Pacific_Partnership
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AFL-CIO discussing the FTA:
The U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (Colombia FTA) went into effect in May 2012 despite the failure of the government of Colombia to meet its obligations under the “Colombian Action Plan Related to Labor Rights” (also known as the Labor Action Plan). Unfortunately, workers still face threats and violence as well as employer schemes to deprive them of direct employment and a fair opportunity to join a union. Those who attack union activists and human rights defenders still operate with near total impunity. For example, on February 28, 2013, following the firing of 110 union members from the same plantation just a month earlier, Juan Carlos Pérez Muñoz, a union organizer on La Cabaña sugar plantation was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen. The murder has not been solved and the workers have not regained their jobs. The AFL-CIO continues to work in solidarity with Colombian trade unionists to press the U.S. and Colombian governments to reform Colombia’s law and practice so that all Colombians can freely exercise their rights without risking their lives or livelihoods.
http://www.aflcio.org/Issues/Trade/Colombia
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Colombia has a monstrous history with the treatment of workers, absolutely the pits. It took years for them to secure the FTA, with Alvaro Uribe making a trip to Plains, Georgia, to seek help from Jimmy Carter on it, then coming away claiming Jimmy Carter backed a Colombian FTA, forcing Jimmy Carter to have to hold a press meeting to correct the record, stating he by no means backed the FTA, that Uribe was mistaken.
Haven't heard a word, yet, on Colombia's relationship to the TPP. The Agreement it got last with the U.S. hit the poor farmers and workers very hard, just like NAFTA decipmated the same groups of people in Mexico, creating bankruptcies, wiping out farm owners who lost their farms passed to them from generations ago, sending both small landowners, and their workers either to try to find work in the cities, or to the US. The US flooded their markets with cheap, tax-payer susbsidized corn, beans, and rice, wiping them completely out of their only means of income. What a filthy shame.
No doubt the working people of Colombia can't afford any more of this special treatment.
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