Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has fulfilled his promise which he has made during his visit to Colombia in 2007 by announcing the successful conclusion of the free trade accord between both countries. In a communiqué released by the official website, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade David Emerson stated it was an initiative of his government on its commitment to open up opportunities for Canadian businesses in the Americas and around the world. The pact is targeted at establishing a free two-way trade, cooperation on labor and environmental issues.
The implementation of the deal would see Columbia removing its tariffs on most industrial products including paper, machinery and equipment, as well as on a majority of Canadian agricultural exports. Besides, the pact will make necessary effort to conform to the core standards set by the International Labor Organization, such as eliminating child labor and workplace discrimination, and ensuring the right to collective bargaining. The recent accord with Peru also highlighted on the labor standards to heighten the need to respect human rights by both parties, added Canadian Minister of Labor Jean-Pierre Blackburn.
The bilateral trade between Canada and Columbia stood at $1.14 billion and the direct investment to Columbia was to the tune of $739 million. To avoid any potential collision with the opposition, the Harper administration has set up a parliamentary committee to study the environmental and human rights concerning the outcome of the pact. Meanwhile, Bush administration hopes to use the deal as an effective tool to be put for debate in the house claiming, the US exports to Columbia would suffer due to the absence of free trade agreement with that country which is in the same region.