ACTIVIDAD DE APRENDIZAJE 11 EVIDENCIA 3: ENSAYO “FREE

TRADE AGREEMENT (FTA): ADVANTAGES AND

DISADVANTAGES”

APRENDIZ:
BADRAMINA PINZON CAMACHO

08 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2021
 Investigue sobre los tratados de libre comercio que
Colombia tiene vigentes con los Estados Unidos.

Free Trade Agreement between Colombia and the United

States

It is an agreement between countries in this case between

Colombia and the United States, which consists of granting
benefits for trade between both parties.
benefits such as low tariffs and incentives for imports and
exports.

A free trade agreement (FTA) is a trade agreement signed by

two or more countries to agree to the granting of mutual tariff
preferences and the reduction of non-tariff barriers to trade in
goods and services. In other words, these agreements
simplify the entry and exit of products from one country to
another, avoiding the restrictions that normally exist.

The Trade Promotion Agreement between the United States

and Colombia, also called TLC (in English: Colombia Trade
Promotion Agreement (TPA)), is a Free Trade Agreement
(FTA) between Colombia and the United States. Approved on
October 12, 2011 by the United States Congress and effective
May 15, 2012.

Approval

Regarding its legislative process, to enter into force with legal

rigor, it had to be ratified by the congresses of the United
States and Colombia.
Since May 15, 2012, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed
by Colombia and the United States came into force with the
aim of promoting trade between the two countries. The Treaty
affects all sectors of the economy and national productive life,
including ICT.

Likewise, in terms of direct purchases of foreign products,

citizens will have at their disposal shopping lists, mostly duty-
free, which they can access through electronic commerce
services. In this case it should be taken into account that even
when entry taxes can be eliminated, there will always be
shipping costs that can increase the final value of a product.
Here wholesale importers have the upper hand because they
will be able to offer the usual products, and many others at a
lower price, and customers will be able to save on tariffs and
direct shipping costs.

In the United States, at the end of August 2006, President

George W. Bush delivered the final text of the agreement to
the United States Congress for discussion and approval.
Since April 2008 the vote for its approval was postponed after
former President Bush sent the treaty in an untimely manner
for approval, which was considered undue pressure by the
Democratic Party in the head of the Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi.

During the 2008 presidential campaign in the United States,

the issue of the treaty came up on some occasions. The then
candidate for the Republican Party of the United States, John
McCain, expressed his support in a televised debate, while
the then candidate for the Democratic Party of the United
States, President Barack Obama, stated that it does not seem
appropriate to him as long as the violations of Colombia
persist in Colombia. the human rights of trade unionists.
On October 21, 2008, the Advisor for Hemispheric Affairs of
the Democratic campaign, Dan Restrepo, stated that Obama
understands the importance of Colombia for the United States
and that he could eventually reassess the appropriateness of
the treaty.

The delay in the final approval of the FTA, by the congresses

of both countries, put in trouble the exporters who enjoy the
tariff benefits of the Law of Andean Tariff Preferences and
Drug Eradication (ATPDEA).

Disadvantages:

low-cost products enter and pound the local market.

they generate dizzying changes: especially in the ways of life

and work of workers, which can result in future and
unpredictable crises.

employment migrates: especially when it comes to more

developed nations exploiting smaller nations, industries and
businesses tend to move to where there are more favorable
conditions and this often destroys employment

ADVANTAGE
 wider markets: mainly for small and medium-sized
companies.
 some products of higher quality and at very favorable
prices.
 it opens the doors to the largest market in the world.
 consolidates atpdea preferences and covers the entire
tariff universo.
 it is binding because it will reduce the insert.
 it involves lower cost of goods and capital imports.
 generates opportunities for Colombians.