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DE RUEHBO #3309/01 3091623
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R 051623Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0699
INFO ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION
WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0001
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS 0002
RUEHC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 0005
RUEHRK/AMEMBASSY REYKJAVIK 0001
RUEHSW/AMEMBASSY BERN 0002

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BOGOTA 003309 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD ECON ECIN PREL CO
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA PUSHES FORWARD WITH AMBITIOUS TRADE AGENDA 
 
REF: BOGOTA 3261; BOGOTA 1515; BOGOTA 1499; BOGOTA 15 
 
¶1. (U)  SUMMARY.  The Government of Colombia continues to make 
progress toward its goal of having nine free trade agreements 
(FTAs) with 45 countries in place by 2010.  While not all nine are 
likely to be in force by next year, Colombia is already looking to 
other trade partners in the Hemisphere as well as Asia for 
additional FTAs.  Colombia's trade agenda, which includes the 
U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (U.S.-CTPA), is a long-term 
strategy focused on diversifying its export markets and inserting 
itself into the global supply chain.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
URIBE'S GOAL: 9 FTAs WITH 45 COUNTRIES BY 2010 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
 
 
¶2. (U)  When President Alvaro Uribe came to power in 2002, Colombia 
had only two free trade agreements with five countries.  Through 
the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), Colombia enjoyed the 
benefits of free trade with Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. 
The G-3 was essentially a limited FTA among Colombia, Venezuela and 
Mexico.  Venezuela has since withdrawn from both agreements.  In 
2005, the CAN's trade agreement with Mercosur entered into force, 
adding four more countries to Colombia's list of free trade 
partners. 
 
 
 
2009: CHILE AND CENTRAL AMERICA FTAs ENTER INTO FORCE 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Colombia's FTA with Chile entered into force in May 2009 
and offers all the protections and benefits of a state-of-the-art 
agreement (Ref C).  According to Colombian Trade Ministry's 
Director of Economic Integration Alfredo Ramos, Colombia's FTA with 
Central America's Northern Triangle will enter into force on 
November 12 with Guatemala and El Salvador, and as soon as possible 
thereafter with Honduras, given its current political crisis. 
 
 
 
PROGRESS, BUT POSSIBLE SNAGS, WITH CANADA, EFTA 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Colombia signed FTAs with Canada and with the European 
Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries (Switzerland, Norway, 
Iceland and Liechtenstein) in November 2008.  The Colombian 
Congress approved the FTA with Canada in August 2009, and the 
Agreement is currently awaiting the approval of Colombia's 
Constitutional Court (approximately a 6-month process).  However, 
on the Canadian side, resistance from NGOs and opposition parties, 
ostensibly on labor and human rights grounds, has complicated the 
minority government's plan to hold a vote.  According to Commercial 
Officer Edsel Aytona of the Canadian Embassy in Bogota, as 
Canadians debate their own FTA with Colombia, they are watching 
closely the political process surrounding the U.S.-CTPA. 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU)  Colombia's FTA with EFTA is written such that it can 
enter into force with member-states on separate timetables, 
depending on when each country is ready.  Switzerland and 
Liechtenstein have already ratified the Agreement.  The Colombian 
Senate has approved the FTA in Committee, but the Agreement has yet 
to go to full votes in either chamber or be presented to the 
 
BOGOTA 00003309  002 OF 003 
 
 
Constitutional Court.  Swiss Deputy Chief of Mission in Bogota 
Francesco Quattrini told us there had been only limited NGO 
opposition to the FTA in Switzerland in the days before the 
legislative vote, and emphasized what he considered Switzerland's 
pragmatic approach to the Agreement, saying, "We tend to focus 
mainly on the commercial benefits of FTAs."  Norwegian Ambassador 
to Colombia Vibeke Knudsen told us that a legislative vote in 
Norway has so far been delayed and that her embassy has been called 
on to help counter increasingly vocal opposition to the FTA from 
Norwegian organized labor and NGOs. 
 
 
 
NEW FTA WITH MEXICO COULD SOFTEN BLOW FROM VENEZUELA 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU)  In August 2009, Colombia and Mexico closed negotiations 
on a new FTA, which expands and updates commitments made as part of 
the G-3 agreement in the mid-1990s.  While the agreement does not 
include ethanol, as Colombia had hoped, it greatly expands 
Colombia's access to Mexico's market for agricultural products. 
The GOC sees the FTA as a tool to help reduce Colombia's $2.4 
billion trade deficit with Mexico and provide a market for exports 
that previously went to Venezuela before its recent imposition of 
trade restrictions.  According to Ramos, certain provisions of the 
Colombia-Mexico FTA, such as those benefitting Colombian dairy 
products can be implemented provisionally, before the Agreement is 
signed or ratified, thereby providing immediate relief to sectors 
hit by the precipitous drop in trade with Venezuela.  Ramos did not 
speculate when the Agreement would be signed. 
 
 
 
NEGOTIATIONS ONGOING WITH EU 
 
---------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶7. (U)  Bogota will host the seventh round of negotiations between 
Colombia, Peru and the European Union the week of November 16. 
Negotiators had hoped to close negotiations in the summer of 2009 
(Ref B).  Peruvian officials have said publicly the November round 
will be the last one.  GOC officials remain more guarded in their 
optimism, acknowledging that "the last five percent of a 
negotiation is by definition the hardest five percent."  Bananas, 
beef, sugar and tropical products are still outstanding issues on 
which Colombia is seeking resolution, while dairy, pork, spirits 
and automobiles top the EU's list of pending issues. 
 
 
 
LOOKING BEYOND THE NINE FTAs 
 
---------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU)  While not all nine FTAs are likely to be in force by 
2010, Colombia is already looking to other trade partners to see 
how it can expand its free trade agenda.  At the top of this list 
is Panama.  Both are examining how they can use their pending FTAs 
with the U.S. as a basis for a bilateral Agreement.  According to 
Ramos, FTA negotiations with Panama could begin as soon as Colombia 
implements the necessary changes to come into compliance with a WTO 
ruling in favor of Panama, against Colombia, so as to first put 
that bilateral irritant behind them.  The Dominican Republic and 
Uruguay are other countries of interest to Colombia, though 
probably for something less than a full FTA.  The GOC has announced 
its intention to open an Embassy in Abu Dhabi and hopes that a 
trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates will follow soon 
thereafter.  Colombia has an aggressive trade and investment 
strategy aimed at Asia, which will be reported septel.  FTA 
negotiations with South Korea are expected to begin in 2010. 
 
BOGOTA 00003309  003 OF 003 
 
 
COMMENT: AMBITIOUS TRADE AGENDA WITH EYE TOWARD U.S. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
 
 
¶9. (SBU)  Colombia's ambitious trade agenda goes beyond 
diversifying its exports away from erratic markets like Venezuela 
and Ecuador.  It is a concerted effort to insert Colombia into the 
global supply chain and solidify its status as a secure destination 
for foreign investment.  The GOC is moving forward with its other 
trade partners irrespective of action on the most important piece 
of its trade agenda, the U.S.-CTPA.  U.S. exporters, such as the 
U.S. Wheat Associates, have expressed concern that Colombia's FTAs 
with other countries will cut into U.S. companies' market share. 
Senior GOC trade officials have said privately they hope the U.S. 
takes notice of Colombia's actions vis-C -vis other countries as a 
way of showing Colombia's commitment to free trade, including with 
the U.S. 
BROWNFIELD