The U.S. 2010 Trade Policy Agenda cautions that the Colombia free trade agreement will not be voted on in U.S. Congress until Colombia does more to address labor abuses.
“We have begun working with Colombia to assess and improve the labor code and the measures to address violence against labor union officials, to ensure that union rights in that country can be fully and freely exercised,” the report says, adding, “the Administration worked to identify what further steps Colombia’s government needs to take to ensure that workers’ fundamental labor rights are protected in law and practice.”
The report states that resolving pending agreements with Colombia, Panama and Korea is a key part of U.S. trade commitments in 2010.
President Uribe, who met with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton while they were both in Uruguay, said that they discussed the passage of the U.S.-Colombia trade deal and that he felt confident it would soon be approved.
The treaty was signed by the U.S. and Colombia in 2006. It has not yet been ratified by U.S. Congress, due to concerns about labor rights, and human rights in general, in Colombia.