Uribe faces ‘crossroads of soul’

Subject: txt intl trade -
Alváro Uribe sweeps in and apologises for keeping his visitors waiting for four hours. “If you’d seen my schedule since 6.30 this morning, you would forgive me,” says the 57-year-old Colombian president. Mr Uribe, a dapper, silver-haired man who has survived 19 assassination attempts, has just finished emergency talks with his economic team. Venezuela, a troublesome neighbour, has tightened restrictions on Colombian food imports, while the soaring peso is squeezing exports.

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[And still no trade agreement with the US.]

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

President George W. Bush 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 Barack Obama, voicing Colombia’s human-rights record raised by labor unions, opposes the agreement...

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