Subject: FW: [CTC] US-Colombia FTA to be ratified this year: Obama
From: "Mike Mathis" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Cc: "'Chuck Harple'" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:04:07 -0400

Hunter,

Per our conversation w/ Sean yesterday.  He could only do this because he
has no Democratic primary challenge.. This is going to get ugly w/in the
Caucus and the Labor Movement.

From: [email-masked]
[mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Gimena
Sanchez
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 12:06 PM
To: [email-masked]
Subject: [CTC] US-Colombia FTA to be ratified this year: Obama

US-Colombia FTA to be ratified this year: Obama
<http://www.colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/18937-us-colombia-fta-to-
be-ratified-within-the-year-obama.html> 

Tuesday, 13 September 2011 06:53 Alice Boyd 

obama colombia-US FTA

U.S. President Barack Obama, said Monday he wants the pending free trade
agreements with Colombia <http://colombiareports.com> , Panama and South
Korea to be ratified by Congress before the end of this year.

"I think we are going to achieve the approval of the trade agreements by the
end of the year, I continue being optimistic," the U.S. president told
reporters.

The U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement, signed by former Colombian President
Alvaro Uribe and former U.S. President George W. Bush, has been stagnant
since 2006, following ongoing concerns about violence against labor rights
activists in Colombia.

Following a labor deal with Colombia, in which the Andean nation vowed to
improve labor rights and the protection of labor activists, Obama said
earlier this year that he would propose the FTA to Congress, but has since
then tied the trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea to the
TAA program that seeks to protect American workers against foreign
competition.

In the press talk, Obama said he had enough votes in Congress to be able to
approve the three pending free trade agreements.

According to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, he is in talks with
Congress about the TAA and trade pacts and said to be "optimistic" the trade
pacts will be ratified before Washington hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation summit in November.

http://www.colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/18937-us-colombia-fta-to-b
e-ratified-within-the-year-obama.html

Gimena Sanchez-Garzoli

Senior Associate for Colombia and the Andes

Washington Office on Latin America

Tele: (202) 797-2171 ext. 205

 Cell: (202) 489-1702

Email: [email-masked]

Website:  <http://www.wola.org> www.wola.org

Skype: WOLAColombia

Twitter: wola_org 

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