"FTA WITH U.S. IS BLOCKING COLOMBIA'S GLOBAL TRADE POLICY,"

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 000217 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/11 TAGS: ETRD ECON PREL ELAB EAIR PGOV CO SUBJECT: "FTA WITH U.S. IS BLOCKING COLOMBIA'S GLOBAL TRADE POLICY," SAYS TRADE MINISTER CLASSIFIED BY: William R. Brownfield, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. Colombian Trade Minister Luis Guillermo Plata told us the lack of U.S. Congressional action on the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA) is hampering Colombian efforts to integrate into the world economy and in particular threatening pending accords with Canada and the European Union. Plata noted that recent comments about the CTPA by senior USG officials had generated mixed signals in the Colombian press. He reiterated Colombia's commitment to cooperate on issues important to the USG, like Pathways to Prosperity, but said the GOC views such initiatives as "much less significant than the CTPA." END SUMMARY. "U.S. DOMESTIC PROBLEM HAS BECOME COLOMBIA'S GLOBAL PROBLEM" -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) In a February 9 meeting with EconCouns, Minister Plata expressed his "incredible frustration" over what he described as a U.S. domestic political problem with the CTPA spilling over into Colombia's trade relations with third countries. Plata asserted that human rights and violence against labor union members had previously not been an issue with Canada, but were now the reason for a delay in the House of Commons voting on their FTA. Likewise, Plata said he expects the European Parliament to delay a vote on Colombia's FTA with the EU over the same issues. Negotiations on the Colombia-EU accord may close this month, with signature of the deal possible in May. ¶3. (C) Plata described several efforts Colombia has made to integrate into the global economy, including attempts to join the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, as well as a range of bilateral investment treaties and free trade agreements across the globe. He claimed that to greater or lesser degrees, the political process surrounding the CTPA has complicated many of these efforts. "FOUR YEARS OF GOOD INTENTIONS" -------------- ¶4. (C) Plata said the Colombians understand well the political realities in the U.S. surrounding the CTPA. He welcomed President Obama's State of the Union call to strengthen trade relations with Colombia as a positive sign. However, Plata opined that recent Colombian media coverage of senior USG officials' comments about the CTPA have left Colombians confused. Plata described a concern within the GOC and Colombian business community that the latest headlines about the CTPA would amount to a continuation of "four years of good intentions that have so far amounted to nothing." NOTE: It has been nearly four years since negotiations of the CTPA closed. END NOTE. "WE WILL SUPPORT USG INITIATIVES... BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP" -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) Minister Plata pledged continued Colombian support for the Hemispheric Pathways to Prosperity initiative. He offered that Colombia might be able to share some best practices from the Ministry's Productive Transformation program, which focuses on developing promising sectors of the economy. Plata was also receptive to the concept of an Open Skies agreement with the U.S. He further pointed to the GOC's cooperative posture at the Copenhagen Summit. Finally, he commented that WTO Director General Pascal Lamy had requested a meeting with President Uribe in Davos for the sole purpose of thanking Colombia for its proactive, pragmatic position in the Doha talks. ¶6. (C) Plata committed to continue supporting USG positions and initiatives in general terms. However, he pointed out that the GOC considered such initiatives as being "much less significant" than CTPA passage. Q asked for U.S. help in passing "the lynchpin of Colombian trade policy." Minister Plata said that passage of the CTPA would have a domino effect on Colombia's other agreements and initiatives to solidify its role as a positive force on the global stage. COMMENT: OTHERS CORROBORATE CLAIMS ABOUT EU, CANADA -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) A private sector contact, who has participated in the Colombia-EU agricultural negotiations, told us that European Parliament members had told him that U.S. inaction on the CTPA over labor-related issues would prove "problematic" for the EU when it came time for a vote on their own FTA. This contact also claimed that "a team of 20-30 anti-trade labor leaders has camped out in Europe" for the duration of the negotiations, in an attempt to turn the European political tide against an FTA with Colombia. Similarly, Canada's vote on its FTA with Colombia, which originally was to take place in June 2009, is still pending. Contacts in the Canadian Embassy in Bogota have told us the delays are partially linked to apprehension within the House of Commons of "getting out in front of the U.S. Congress." BROWNFIELD