Republicans threaten Colombia trade preference deal

[Judi Lynn]

Republicans threaten Colombia trade preference deal
Friday, 17 December 2010 14:06 Dan Billingham

Republicans in the U.S. Senate are trying to block the extension of a trade preference agreement which allows many Colombian goods to enter the country duty-free.

An extension to the deal was passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday but has met with a surprise block from a group of four senators. Colombian politicians are now left with a nervous wait to see if the bill gets passed by the U.S. Upper House before the current Andean Trade Preference Act expires on December 31 this year.

If the preferential trade terms lapse at the end of the year then many Colombian exporters will face tough barriers to the United States market, after having already suffered a lean 2010. Should the preference act not be extended by the end of the calendar year it will likely be passed in 2011, but with new members of the Senate arriving in January following this year’s mid-term elections, any new policy-making may have to wait a few weeks.

Added to the $5 billion that the country expects to lose as a result of recent catastrophic flooding, there is concern that a lapse in extending the deal could hand the Colombian economy a very nasty shock in the coming weeks.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/economy/13448-republicans-threaten-colombia-trade-preference-deal.html

[bemildred]

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