Colombia-U.S. trade accord fails to deliver

A promised increase in exports to the United States as a result of a free trade agreement has failed to materialize as exports contracted 15.5 percent in 2013, according to Colombia’s statistics agency.

“It is calculated that with the accord our exports will grow with at least 6 percent,” said President Juan Manuel Santos in October 2011 when the US Congress ratified a free trade pact between the two countries.

But in 2012, when the accord came into force, Colombia exports to the U.S. dropped 0.7 percent, and accelerated to a 15.5 percent drop last year.

Source: Colombia Reports