Colombia’s Uribe, Canada’s Harper to Sign Free Trade Agreement

Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will sign a free trade accord today on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Lima, Uribe’s office said in a statement.

The accord, which eases access to markets for C$1.14 billion ($890 million) in annual bilateral trade, was announced in June after less than a year of negotiations.

President George W. Bush, who arrives to Lima today, has also made approving a free trade agreement with Colombia, a top ally in the fight against drugs, a priority before leaving office in January. U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, echoing concerns about Colombia’s human-rights record raised by labor unions, opposed the agreement during his campaign for president.

“This is another example of the hemisphere moving ahead without us,” Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the New York- based Council of the Americas, said in an interview in Lima.

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