The Free Trade Agreement between Colombia and The United States

On the Revolution of Ideas!

The FTA( Free Trade Agreement) between Colombia and the United States finally seems to go into the last touches for its approval. It’s about time the American congress passed this FTA with Colombia. This treaty, which has been exposed to many obstacles, mainly from the Democratic Party and the left wing that see this treaty as a threat to American jobs, now sees a light at the end of the tunnel.

Many efforts have been done on Colombia’s end to achieve this FTA which guarantees that an ally like Colombia receives the support it needs from a friend that sometimes forgets the importance of Colombia in the region. The important thing is that the FTA between Colombia and the USA is approved with no further obstacles. The republicans have now given a green light to this treaty, so let’s hope that no one on both sides of the left and right suggest issues that make this treaty an impossible one. 

This FTA benefits both Colombia and the United states, it allows both countries to grow, and to show the world that the United States supports its allies. Although so far what has happened is that the United States has neglected its number one ally in the region. I consider this a mistake from Washington. It’s high time for example that this treaty is approved, but also that the President Obama visits Colombia. This way he will be able to show the enemies of Colombia’s growth that America is behind its ally and that Colombia will not fall into the hands of the Chavez Socialists thoughts and regime.

The FTA benefits states like Florida, which will see a growth in the job market as a consequence of the approval of the FTA between Colombia and Panama. Colombia will also see a growth in the job market, and the development of new technologies will enable Colombia to see a stellar economic growth providing new opportunities to finally put a halt on the gaping hole between the rich and the poor.

The only thing is that the Colombian government has to be able to apply the treaty in a way that people from every social sector can benefit from it, and not only the rich, because then the treaty will serve no purpose. It’s essential to put an end to the gaping hole between the rich and the poor and the only way to do this is allowing everyone to benefit, to grow, and create jobs with decent salaries and to put an end to the cooperatives, which are a way to destroy the labor unions and labor rights in Colombia. So I hope Santos, if the FTA is approved, is smart enough to put this treaty to work for everyone in Colombia so his promises and speech are more real than fiction.

Finally I’m glad that the FTA finally gets approved, it’s an achievement for the Uribe presidency, which tried desperately to get the FTA approved, but due to the extreme left in the Democratic Party, this didn’t happen under his presidency. But now, I think the FTA will become a reality and everyone who benefits from it will share a victory. In south Florida especially, the approval of these treaties with Colombia and Panama will bring a sense of opportunity and growth to those who live in Florida and that everyone in the nation wants. South Florida needs jobs and it’s time to get these treaties on the road, so progress and job creation can come into south Florida and the United States in general.

I will never understand why even though the treaty brought more benefits than disadvantages, the Democratic Party made such a hostile opposition for so many years. Was it all to hurt Uribe? Or was it to hurt the right in general? If it’s because of this, I understand why so many democrats lost their jobs last November.

All in all, let’s hope congress gets moving and the FTA becomes real in no time so the progress we want is shared by all the parties involved. No more talk and more action.

Cristhian Mancera Mejia

Director

La Tribunacolus