Colombia Free Trade Agreement
 In November of 2006 the President signed a free trade agreement with Colombia, which now awaits vote by Congress. Like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) before it, the Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) eliminates barriers to trade in an effort to increase the flow of goods and services between countries. While the agreement does require both parties to adhere to international environmental agreements and labor standards, it contains insufficient guarantees that domestic environmental laws won't be trumped by corporate interests while also ignoring Colombia's continued failure to enforce labor and human rights.
Colombia, which encompasses vast tracks of Amazon rainforest, is a country with tremendous biodiversity and natural resources that would be opened up to corporate plunder without sufficient environmental safeguards. It is also the worst place in the world to be a trade unionist, with 2200 labor assassinations since 1991 and 72 in 2006 alone. Unfortunately, the Colombian government does little to punish or prevent rampant crimes against organized labor, creating a culture of impunity that the Columbia FTA would only further encourage. For example, many Colombian coffee workers receive meager wages and endure considerable persecution, yet a free trade agreement would encourage American investment in this industry.
As written, the agreement puts the profits of foreign corporations before domestic environmental and health regulations. The agreement weakens the screening process for imported food while at the same time increasing the monopoly of US drug companies, making access to life-saving drugs even more difficult in Colombia.
All told, a free trade agreement with Colombia is the same old story; protections for corporations to ensure profit at the expense of workers and the environment.
For more information on fair trade solutions visit our Fair Trade Bill of Rights.
Sign-on Letters and Statements:
 Letter from Environmental Organizations opposed to Colombia FTA: May 15, 2008
Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth Oppose Colombia Free Trade Agreement: March 12, 2008
Letter to the House opposed to lame duck trade agreement passage: November 17, 2008
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