FREE TRADE "Colombia seeks commerce, investment"

By Francisco Santos Calderon Vice President of Colombia.

There was an excellent article in todays Miami Herald by the Vice President of Colombia. He was putting forth how important the free trade agreement between the United States and Colombia is to Colombia! Of course the dems don't like Uribe because he is conservative. And a friend of the Bushman! From what I have seen and read, Uribe has done a pretty decent job for the people of Colombia.
What I would like to see is Colombia step up on to the world stage. Build and dig a canal from the Bay of Colombia near Turbo to the Pacific coast. Wide enough to handle the super tankers the world depends on, not to mention the tens of thousands of jobs Colombians would have taking on the project. Hell, Uribe could probably bring the FARC to the peace agreement table just by offering them good stable employment for the five years it would take to build the canal. With todays technology and the U.S. behind them it could be done. Oil is one thing, controling the largest canal through the continents (the Panama Canal is old hat) would place Colombia as a major player in world events!

By b bruce on Jan 30, 2008, 00:41 in Friendly Talkzone.

scotty says on Jan 30, 2008, 02:27:

the damn Dems in congress wont do it, they hate Uribe and they hate Bush. The bastards need to pass fair trade with Colombia. Colombia is our friend and a great country. WTF is the matter with our congress...talk about arrogant.

Get Rhythm, when you got the blues. Johnny Cash

Waterdawg says on Jan 30, 2008, 05:06:

Scotty & all the rest of my fellow countrymen ( States/ Gringos ) .. We have been blessed to be citizens of a great Nation : And I love my Mother Land with all my heart ( and tax's ) .. But we have tolerated a total inept Government , Capitol hill , Beltway boys , Political elitist controlled Washington for how many years now .. 35 , 40 ? ? ? How can you expect common sense policy from that garbage dump ? And I don't care which stupid Party is in Control..

What bothers me more than the Idiots ( male & female ) on the hill ; is that the American voter keeps sending them back ? Talk about Dumb and Dumber !

cali373 says on Jan 30, 2008, 07:14:

I hope a Trade agreement get worked out tha tis better than the current one for Colombia. It is definitely better for the U.S. than Colombia. As far as the U.S. goverment they have actually increased trade agreements with other countries since the 70's. The problem is that Republicans usually practice "crony capitalism" and Reagan and the Bush hammered out agreements using a gun, where Clinton did not and Carter inherted a terrible economy due the the oil embargos, so nothing was done during that time. But trade definitely increased during the past 35 years.

The FTA with Colombia is FAR from being a free trade agreement but it is a trade agreement.

A trade agreement with the U.S. does not always mean the citizens of the other country will see much lower prices. For example. while in Mexico, I noticed that Domestic Electronics were more expensive in Mexico than the U.S. (even in dollars). Mcdonald's, KFC, Starbucks, burger king prices were set at U.S. levels. Now I am not saying that is because of NAFTA or the U.S., but probably taxes imposed by mexico.

Colombia has a Civil conflict to fight, a high deficit, and a security problem. It is not lowering taxes anytime soon.

Smile if you are a thinker!

jh816 says on Jan 30, 2008, 08:53:

From a strictly short-term and balance of trade point of view, the FTA is a net loss for Colombia. Most Colombian exports already enjoy duty-free access and this will not likely change with or without the FTA because of Colombia's important role as capatalistic buffer in the region. So, again, from a strict short-term balance standpoint, the Colombian market will only be opening itself up to lower priced competition.

However, Colombia has a great deal to gain from the FTA if you take a broader perspective. One, and most importantly, Colombia needs to open itself up to the world to dispel the fama that it has. The FTA will show the nation as the progressive, business-minded, and STABLE country that it is, and this will help it tremendously when negotiating other deals (economic or otherwise). Secondly, while the country is fairly open to foreign direct investment now, the FTA will lend more credibility and assurance to the market. These two benefits combined ( besides the fact that FTA's generally bring down prices, make for a stronger market, and enhance the quality of products) will be a huge plus for the Colombian economy and the Colombian people.

jonas says on Jan 30, 2008, 09:30:

So would that be a plan to save the US from going into recession?

What I have, I do not want to lose, but Where I am I do not want to stay, but those I love, I do not want to leave, but those I know I no longer want to see, but Where I die, I do not want to go;I want to stay where I have never been

jh816 says on Jan 30, 2008, 11:06:

At this point, there's no way we're going to avoid a recession. The economic circumstances are not too bad, but more importantly, everyone is scared. This is going to freeze consumer and business spending which will guarantee a couple of quarters of contraction.

Regardless, don't forget recession is not a four-letter word, it's a natural process birthed from the combination of a free-market system and human behavior. People get over-excited for a couple of years, spend too much, and take out overzealous business loans. When this happens, prices start to inflate and eventually are more than market value. Consumers and businesses start refusing to pay the inflated prices and the market starts to correct by way of killing off some of the excess capacity (ie. inefficient businesses).