(Updates with comment from GE in the fourth paragraph).
April 6 (Bloomberg) - Colombia agreed to return to work laws and crack down on violence against union organizers in an agreement with the Obama administration, paving the way for a free trade agreement to be considered by Congress.President Barack Obama is now starting to work with Congress to obtain the agreement of free trade Colombia approved as soon as as possible, a U.S. official said today on a conference call with journalists. Obama and President Juan Manuel Santos Colombia, which is the United States, this week, plan to meet tomorrow, said the official.Implementation of the Colombia of guarantees for the organizers and the expansion of the union protections are a "condition to the agreement enter into force", the Office of the representative of the United States commerce said in a statement. The trade agreement has languished since signed in 2006, as have agreements with the Korea of the South and the Panama. "This sets the stage for the adoption of all three free trade agreements in the coming months,"Karan Bhatia, vice President in Washington for General Electric Co. and a former Deputy US trade representative, said in an e-mail. "It is important for us exports, U.S. jobs and the credibility of the United States as an international commercial partner".Adriana Vargas, a spokesman traveling with Santos, refused to comment on.BoostedThe shipments trade agreement would boost U.S. shipments in Colombia by $ 1.1 billion per year to 12 billion in 2010, according to the International Trade Commission of the United States. For the Colombia, the agreement would lock in unilateral trade privileges that are the subject of a renewal by Congress, providing greater certainty for investors. Preferences expired in February, with a blow of Colombian textile manufacturers and horticulturalists.Under the terms of the agreement of the hand of work, Colombia said it expand protections for union activists, eliminate a backlog of assessments on risks to members of the Union and lead the police to assign 95 investigators to pursue cases of crimes against members of the Union. Colombia will also limit the use of cooperatives, which allow companies to circumvent union protections and double the number of labour inspectors in the next four years, according to an information sheet published by the Office of us trade. "" We are in the final sprint of the negotiations, "said Mauricio Cardenas, an economist at the Brookings Institution in Washington and former Minister of economic development in Colombia. "This list includes things that are manageable for the Colombia to adopt".U.S., TradeThe U.S. and Colombia the Colombia, who exchange about $ 27.7 billion in trade last year, has agreed to amendments to the provisions of the original agreement after the requirements of labour and the environment, democratic legislators in 2007. George w. Bush one year later attempted to force the Democratic Congress to vote for the transaction. They have used a procedural maneuver to avoid a vote.This year, House Republicans Chairman John Boehner of Ohio threatened maintains an agreement with the South Korea if the Colombia agreement has not been sent to Congress. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said that he held until the confirmation of a new Secretary of Commerce if a Colombia agreement is not moved. "It would be very good news for an economy needed, McConnell said today.A U.S. official said that the administration would now be working with Congress to determine the time of the review to the Covenants. With the changes that will make the Colombia, the administration now wants this approved agreement as soon as possible, the official said.-With the help of Eric Martin in New York. Editors: Steve Geimann, Larry Liebert
To contact the reporters on this story: Mark Drajem in Washington at mdrajem@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Larry Liebert at lliebert@bloomberg.net
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