Canada's FTA with Colombia beats U.S. into effect

Farm and Ranch August 26, 2011 Canada’s free trade agreement with Colombia is now in effect. The FTA the United States worked out with Colombia hasn’t been formally submitted to Congress yet. That is frustrating to those in agriculture who support free trade pacts. Shannon Schlecht is Director of Policy for U.S. Wheat Associates, a wheat export development organization.

Schlecht: “I am frustrated that we are still waiting for these agreements. I mean we had a two year head start on Canada with the signing of ours in 2006 versus Canada in 2008. We have always been playing catch up to the MERCOSUR countries.”

Argentina is one of those so its wheat gets preferential tariff treatment by Colombia and now, so does Canada.

U.S. Wheat Associates has estimated that U.S. wheat producers stand to lose up to 100-million dollars in sales per year without quick passage of the U.S.-Colombia FTA. Among the wheat Colombia has purchased from the U.S. so far this marketing year are 14-thousand metric tons of white wheat. Schlecht is hoping there will be quick movement on pending trade deals when Congress returns from the August break.

Schlecht: “I definitely think there is some that get it. If we keep pushing on the economic important of the jobs that can be created, of the trade surplus that agriculture gives back to the U.S. economy and back to rural America; we keep pushing those messages hopefully the log jam will break and we will move forward.”

U.S. Free Trade Agreements with Panama and South Korea are also pending. Schlecht says moving the Trade Adjustment Act together with the free trade deals has been the hold up.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Aginfo Net.

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