Colombia is discussing a free trade agreement with China, local news network Noticias Uno reported Sunday.
According to Noticias Uno, Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos has been discussing a free trade agreement with China as well as Japan.
Santos said in July that negotiations were ongoing with Japan, yet failed to mention his government is discussing a similar proposal with China.
Such an agreement could have serious repercussions for Colombia, both domestically and internationally.
“[With such an agreement] logically, the agriculture and livestock sectors could have all the opportunities in the world,” said Rafael Mejia, the President of the Farmworkers of Colombia Society.
However a combination of Santos’ economic goals of putting emphasis on Colombia’s industries and production, with what a FTA with China would actually look like for the country has left other experts skeptical.
“It’s inconvenient. It’s very difficult to compete with China especially for Colombian industries,” said economics professor Julio Alonso.
Talks of a free trade agreement between China and Colombia have occurred periodically for the past few years though no official agreement has been reached yet.
MORE: Colombia on its way to free trade pact with China
The US is currently Colombia’s largest trade partner with China second. If such an FTA was reached between Colombia and China, the current trade partner standings could change and may affect Colombia’s relationship with the US.
Sources
- Gobierno adelanta TLC con China (Noticias Uno)
