US Blocks Free Trade Bill

On April 10 2008 the US House of Representatives voted to indefinitely delay the implementation of the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement. The move effectively delays debate on the politically sensitive free trade deal until after the November 2008 Presidential election and avoids a potentially damaging showdown between the two democratic presidential candidates who have both questioned the merits of free trade. Colombia's food and drink exporters currently enjoy relatively straightforward access to the US under the Andean Trade Preference and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) passed in 2002. However, this agreement will expire on December 31 2008 and the failure

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