Preparations to have a U.S.-Colombian free trade agreement approved
by U.S. Congress are ‘actively in progress, the country’s Trade
Representative Ron Kirk said Monday.
According to French press agency AFP, Kirk said Obama had tasked him with conducting a “thorough review” of the agreement with Colombia, and “finding a way forward.
“That
work is actively in progress,” he said, adding that he had “very
productive meetings” with his Colombian counterpart toward that end.
Kirk said his team was also “actively engaging with stakeholders” in the United States to get their perspectives on the pact.
“If
a US-Colombia trade agreement is done well, it can provide a strong
incentive for Colombia and other countries seeking to diversify their
economies beyond the drug trade that plagues a number of nations across
the Americas — even as we open up a significant new market for US
exporters,” he said.