	Introduction

The U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement entered into force on May 15, 2012. It is a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and Colombia that eventually will eliminate tariffs and other barriers in bilateral trade in goods and services. During the 112 th Congress, President Obama submitted the draft legislation on October 3, 2011 that was then introduced by request in both houses of Congress ( H.R. 3078 / S. 1641 ) to implement the U.S.-Colombia FTA. On October 12, 2011, the House passed H.R. 3078 (262-167) and sent it to the Senate. The Senate passed the legislation (66-33) on the same day. The two countries signed the agreement on November 22, 2006. The Colombian Congress approved the agreement in June 2007 and again in October 2007, after the agreement was modified to include new labor and environmental provisions. An FTA with Canada, approved by both countries in 2010, entered into force on August 15, 2011. In 2017, Colombia ranked 22 nd among U.S. export markets and 27 th among foreign exporters to the United States. FTA Potential Economic Impact

Upon full implementation, the U.S.-Colombia FTA will likely have a small, but positive, net economic effect on the United States. The net overall effect on the United States is expected to be minimal because Colombia's economy is very small when compared to the U.S. economy and the value of the U.S. trade with Colombia is a very small percentage of overall U.S. trade. U.S. agricultural exports would gain a small but not insignificant preference in the Colombian market for temperate-zone agricultural produce. Numerous Members of Congress opposed the FTA with Colombia because of concerns about violence in Colombia against labor union members and other human rights defenders. Some Republican and Democratic supporters of the FTA took issue with these charges against the Colombian government and contended that Colombia has made significant progress in recent years to curb the violence. Colombia Action Plan related to Labor Rights

The United States and Colombia negotiated to develop an "Action Plan Related to Labor Rights" (the Action Plan) to help resolve the following U.S. concerns related to labor-related issues in Colombia: alleged violence against Colombian labor union members; inadequate efforts to bring perpetrators of violence to justice; and insufficient protection of workers' rights in Colombia. The Prosecutor General's Office of Colombia informed the Colombian government of numerous actions it had taken or plans to take to combat impunity in cases involving union members and labor activists:
Issued a directive requiring criminal investigators to determine whether a victim was a union member or labor activist in the initial phase of the investigation; Issued a directive to the chiefs of the Unit of Justice and Peace and the Unit of Human Rights to share evidence and information about criminal cases involving union members, labor activists, teachers, journalists, and human rights activists; Developed a plan and identified budgetary needs for training judicial police investigators and prosecutors on crime scene management, and in investigative techniques with specific reference to the issues involved in labor cases; worked with the U.S. government in developing a detailed training program; Developed a plan and specified budgetary needs by May 20, 2011, to strengthen the institutional capacity, number of prosecutors and number of judicial police investigators; Finalized an analysis by July 15, 2011, on closed cases of homicides of union members and activists, in order to extract lessons that could improve investigations and prosecutions in future cases; the results of this analysis were widely publicized to help reduce impunity and deter future crimes; Developed a plan and identified specific budgetary needs for victims' assistance centers specialized in human rights cases, including labor cases; the Prosecutor General's Office agreed to staff the centers with professionals with expertise on human rights and labor issues; Colombia agreed to share the plans and budgetary allocations for this project to the U.S. government by June 15, 2011; Developed a program by the Prosecutor General's Office to address the backlog of unionist homicide cases that included (a) meeting with representatives of the union confederations and the National Labor School, Escuela Nacional Sindical (ENS), an independent labor rights monitoring body, in order to try to reconcile discrepancies; and (b) internal guidance to prosecutors to accelerate action on cases with leads, with a special focus on "priority labor cases", and to provisionally close cold cases by June 15, 2011; and Improved public reporting of completed criminal cases involving labor violence by the Prosecutor General's Office through the following: (a) publication by April 22, 2011, of cases decided as of January 1, 2011, and thereafter; and (b) identification of methods by June 15, 2011, for posting information regarding all completed cases on the Prosecutor General's Office website. Much of the U.S. business contends that the agreement helps increase exports of U.S. products, especially in agriculture. Prior to passage of the agreement, U.S. exporters were concerned that they were losing market share in the Colombian market as a result of passage of FTAs that Colombia has negotiated with other countries. Numerous policymakers voiced concern about the United States losing market share of the Colombian market if Congress did not approve the U.S.-Colombia FTA. They maintain that Colombia's labor movement is under attack through violence, intimidation, and harassment, as well as legal channels.
The U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement entered into force on May 15, 2012. It is a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and Colombia, which will eventually eliminate tariffs and other barriers in bilateral trade in goods and services. On October 3, 2011, during the 112th Congress, President Barack Obama submitted draft legislation (H.R. 3078/S. 1641) that was introduced by request in both houses of Congress to implement the agreement. On October 12, 2011, the House passed H.R. 3078 (262-167) and sent it to the Senate. The Senate passed the implementing legislation (66-33) on the same day. The agreement was signed by both countries almost five years earlier, on November 22, 2006. The Colombian Congress approved it in June 2007 and again in October 2007, after it was modified to include new provisions agreed to in the May 10, 2007, bipartisan understanding between congressional leadership and President George W. Bush.
The United States is Colombia's leading trade partner. Colombia accounts for a very small percentage of U.S. trade (approximately 1%), ranking 22nd among U.S. export markets and 27th among foreign exporters to the United States in 2017. Because the FTA has been in effect for only five and a half years, the economic effects of the agreement are not yet clear. Some economic studies estimated that, upon full implementation, the impact on the United States would likely be positive but very small due to the small size of the Colombian economy.
The congressional debate surrounding the US-Colombia FTA mostly centered on violence, labor, and human rights issues in Colombia. Numerous Members of Congress opposed passage of the agreement because of concerns about alleged targeted violence against union members in Colombia, inadequate efforts to bring perpetrators to justice, and weak protection of worker rights. However, other Members of Congress supported the FTA and took issue with these charges, stating that Colombia had made great progress over the last 10 years to curb violence and enhance security. They also argued that U.S. exporters were losing market share of the Colombian market and that the agreement would further open the Colombian market for U.S. goods and services.
To address the concerns related to labor rights and violence in Colombia, the United States and Colombia agreed upon an "Action Plan Related to Labor Rights" that included specific and concrete steps to be taken by the Colombian government with specific timelines. It included numerous commitments to protect union members, end impunity, and improve worker rights. The Colombian government submitted documents to the United States in time to meet various target dates listed in the Action Plan.
The U.S. business community generally supports the FTA with Colombia because it contends that FTAs help increase U.S. exports. At the time of the debate, U.S. exporters urged policymakers to move forward with the agreement, arguing that the United States was losing market share of the Colombian market, especially in agriculture, as Colombia entered into FTAs with other countries. Colombia's FTA with Canada, which was implemented on August 15, 2011, was of particular concern for U.S. agricultural producers. Critics of the agreement expressed concerns about violence against union members and the lack of protection of worker rights in Colombia, especially in labor cooperatives. Labor unions in general remain highly opposed to the agreement. They argue that Colombia's labor movement is under attack through violence, intimidation, and harassment, as well as legal challenges.