Within the framework of an event of the Rural Development Agency aimed at peasants, President Gustavo Petro put on the table on the table Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that Colombia has with the United States for 12 years.
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During his speech, the president pointed out that if his counterpart Donald Trump decided to give the agreement to be completed, He would applaud that determination.
“Given the balance of payments, which the press does not comment, the trade balance, how much they export to us and how much we export to them, who wins, who loses, Colombia loses in the FTA with the United States. If it occurs To Trump finish the FTA, I applaud it “he said.
The Head of State said The FTA would not have taken care of peasant productionbut it would have given more support for products from the US territory, thus impacting the local operation.
“He took care that American products, starting with corn, can arrive without taxes, without tariffs and practically ended the cornfielders of Colombia. This will happen and is happening with milk”President Petro said.
This is not the first time that the president expresses his discontent around this commercial agreement. Since he arrived at Nariño’s house, Petro has insisted on renegotiating the FTAs that the country maintains with the US and Europe.
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President Gustavo Petro
EFE
‘You have to take advantage of the trade’
After these statements, the president of the Colombian Chamber (Amcham Colombia), María Claudia Lacouture spoke.
The union leader emphasized that the Trump administration has made it clear in these first 30 days that its commercial approach is in other priorities, and the NAFTA with Colombia is not in its radar. He also explained the impact that this bilateral pact would have ended.
“If Colombia loses this agreement, the impact would be deep: more than 530,000 coffee families depend on their exports to the US; 79 % of our flowers have their main market there; the fruit sector, with 765,000 direct jobs and 1 , 8 million indirect jobs, sell 30 % of its production to the United States. To thousands of homes “, Indian.
Lacouture added that it is important to have more caution with the type of statements made. “Instead of speeches that tense the relationship, Colombia should focus on strengthening and taking advantage of the opportunities offered by its main commercial partner, instead of risking what you already have,”he said.
(See: ‘disproportionate tariffs and excess regulation, smuggling broth’)
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