U.S. Democratic senators met with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to say that the two countries’ free trade agreement (FTA) will not be implemented before the end of the year, reported Colombian media.
Senators Christopher Dodd and Mark Warner met the Colombian president in the Casa de Nariño to discuss the pending FTA. According to the senators the deal will not be ratified this year, primarily due to a lack of time.
Dodd explained that only 40 days of legislative sessions remain before Congress breaks for its summer recess, and this did not leave sufficient time for the FTA to be finalized.
The three were also joined by U.S. Ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield, Colombian Ambassador to the U.S. Carolina Barco, Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez and Trade Minister Luis Guillermo Plata.
Republican senators in the U.S. continue to push for the passage of the free trade deal with Colombia. On Tuesday sixteen U.S. senators sent a letter to President Barack Obama asserting that he should set a date for Congress to ratify the stalled agreement, stating that it would act as “a catalyst for significant economic growth and job creation in the United States.”
William Brownfield said that the FTA will produce more jobs, trade, investments and economic activity, adding that the pact was “not a favor, nor an act of charity,” but represented the “interests of each country.”