Senate Republicans ratcheted up pressure for passage of Colombia and Panama trade pacts this week, warning they would potentially block a commerce secretary appointment if the Obama administration does not usher through the deals.
"This opportunity for bipartisan collaboration is particularly true of the Colombia deal," writes AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini on The Huffington Post, "but only if the president is able to overcome the opposition of one of the most vocal and intense coalitions of anti-free trade groups ever."
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner suggested February 16 that free trade deals with Colombia and Panama should gain approval this year along with the South Korea trade pact. His comments coincide with an uptick in pressure to set timelines on the trade deals.
Colombia and China may partner to build a 137-mile railway linking the Andean country’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The “dry canal” project fuels speculation that Colombia is looking beyond the United States for trade opportunities.
“Now is not the time to relinquish our historic leadership on trade in the hemisphere—it’s the time to renew it," said keynote speaker Senator John McCain before a panel on trade issues affecting the Americas.
AS/COA takes a look at the 112th Congress' activity related to pending free-trade agreements with Colombia and Panama, as well as extension of the Andean Trade Preference and Drug Eradication Act.
"Colombia and Panama are not waiting on us," said Senator John McCain at the Americas Quarterly's Winter 2011 launch in Washington. "This is the new reality in our hemisphere today that too many Americans don’t understand: Our neighbors are not dependent on us."
