Through a message on her account on the social network
A Sept. 5 order, Lacouture said, “allows 0% agriculture through a verifiable reciprocal agreement.” To do this, he added, “active negotiation by the Government of Colombia is required,” which would be “pending.”
The board’s comment came after President Gustavo Petro, also through
“This proposal, stated the head of state, seeks a 0% tariff for food and agro-industrial production that Colombia exports to the United States.”
“The idea of tariff preferences as compensation for the Colombian fight against drug trafficking must be recovered,” he added.
Also proposed were “stimuli from the US Government to US companies that trade agro-industrial products, to enter into long-term contracts with farmers to buy the goods from the substitution of illicit crops” and a global treaty to pursue “assets and capital of cocaine drug trafficking lords around the world.”
Lacouture and Petro.
Other responses from Lacouture to Petro
Lacouture said he would remind Petro of some data for a useful and calm debate on the US, tariffs and substitution, with realistic solutions that take care of household income and the well-being of Colombians.
– Shutdown in the US: minimum staff is different from zero decisions. A closure limits, but does not paralyze. Congress continues working. Keeping the channels open, “lobbying” remains useful and effective.
– National interest: agree. Protecting income means not making inputs more expensive. Raising tariffs on US goods that Colombia does not produce in volume (raw materials, machinery, chemicals, parts, etc.) is transferred to the pockets of Colombians. 70% of what is imported is not manufactured in Colombia.
– Work on immediate technical priority: rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and tariff quotas; Accelerating admissibility, certifications and buyer information is more relevant today.
– Incentives for purchases: subsidizing imports would, in practice, pay third parties to buy from us; It is not usual or simple. Realistic path: DFC with financing and guarantees to encourage investments and long-term purchase contracts (off-take).
– Asset pursuit: shared objective. The Vienna Convention (1988), Palermo (2000) and FATF/FATF standards already exist. What is effective: beneficial ownership, MLATs, cooperation and asset recovery. Colombia can lead in existing forums.
– If we seek the national interest, let’s focus on realistic and pragmatic measures, with results in the next 10 months, not on requests that sound good but may fall by the wayside at this time.
