This document discusses the advantages and disadvantages of free trade agreements between countries. It provides an overview of the free trade agreement between the United States and Colombia, noting that it will eliminate tariffs on nearly 70% of US agricultural exports to Colombia. The advantages listed include increased economic co-dependence between nations, allowing countries to specialize in industries of comparative advantage, and regional economic growth. The disadvantages include more powerful countries potentially flooding local markets, disruptive changes to workers' lives and industries, lack of benefits to workers if movement of workers is restricted, and increased international competition.

1. ACTIVIDAD DE APRENDIZAJE 11
EVID. 3: ENSAYO “FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (FTA): ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGES”
YONATAN JAVIER CANO BLANDON
DIANA SHIRLEY ESCOBAR ANDRADES
OMAR AUGUSTO GOMEZ FERNANDEZ
INSTRUCTOR
TRANSVERSAL DE INGLÉS
SERVICIO NACIONAL DE APRENDIZAJE - REGIONAL ANTIOQUIA
TECNOLOGIA EN NEGOCIACIÓN INTERNACIONAL
FICHA: 2315301
2022

2. TRIAL
Colombia's economy is the third largest in Central and South America. This comprehensive trade agreement will
remove tariffs and other barriers to American exports, expand trade between our two countries, and promote economic
growth for both. The International Trade Commission (ITC) has estimated that the tariff reductions in the Agreement
will expand US product exports alone by more than $1.1 billion, supporting thousands of additional American jobs. The
Agreement will provide significant new access to Colombia's $166 billion services market, supporting expanded
opportunities for US service providers, in addition, US cotton, yarn and fabric exports to Colombia are used in many
garments that Colombia exports to the United States.
The Agreement will remove significant barriers to US products entering Colombia's market: More than 80 percent of
US industrial and consumer product exports with average tariffs on US industrial exports ranging between 7.4 and 14.6
percent, this will substantially increase U.S. exports gain immediate duty-free access to Colombia, including almost all
products in these sectors: agriculture and construction equipment, aircraft and parts, auto parts, fertilizers and
agrochemicals, technology equipment of information, medical and scientific equipment, and wood. Many agricultural
staples will also benefit from the Agreement, since more than half of current US agricultural exports.
The Agreement also establishes duty-free tariff quotas (TRQs) on standard beef, chicken thighs, dairy products, corn,
sorghum, animal feed, rice, and soybean oil. they would face an average tariff of more than 9 percent, while many
products from these other countries will enter Colombia duty-free. In 2010, the United States exported $832 million
worth of agricultural products to Colombia, the second-highest export total in South America. The main exports of the
USA
The trade agreements between the United States and Colombia will immediately eliminate tariffs on nearly 70 percent
of US agricultural exports, including wheat, barley, soybeans, soy flour and meal, high-quality beef, bacon, almost all
fruit and vegetable products, peanuts, whey, cotton, and the vast majority of processed products. These improvements
include requirements for the protection of intellectual property rights that are essential to protect copyrighted works,
such as music, movies, and software, from piracy in the digital environment; requirements for strong and dissuasive
criminal penalties against copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting; requirements for robust patent and evidence
data protection that respects the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health; and state-of-the-art protection for US
trademarks.
Labor obligations are subject to the same dispute resolution and enforcement mechanisms as commercial obligations.
Cash Register Fair and Open Public Procurement: US suppliers are granted the right to non-discriminatory treatment
when bidding on procurement opportunities offered by a wide range of Colombian government ministries, agencies,
public companies and regional governments. Level playing field for US investors: US companies in Colombia are
protected from discriminatory or illegal treatment, and the Agreement provides a neutral and transparent mechanism
for the resolution of investment disputes.
The Trade Promotion Agreement between the United States and Colombia opens new market access opportunities for
US textile and apparel manufacturers and strengthens customs control mechanisms to verify declarations of origin and
deny illegal customs circumvention. Qualified US textile and apparel exports to Colombia would receive duty-free
treatment immediately upon implementation of the Agreement. This represented 34.4 percent of US merchandise
exports. Of the 13,177 US companies that exported to Colombia in 2008, 11,562 or 87.7 percent were small and
medium-sized. The Trade Promotion Agreement between the United States and Colombia provides a new opportunity
for US operators to obtain the legal certainty necessary to make significant investments abroad.

3. Advantages
1. It generates co-dependence. Nations that trade freely become dependent on each other and develop closer
commercial and diplomatic ties, thus counteracting the outbreak of wars.
2. It promotes comparative advantage. That is, countries tend to specialize in the goods they are most efficient at
producing and exporting, thus being able to import the goods in which they are not so efficient at a good relative
price. This would mean an improvement in the country's quality of life.
3. It does not distort trade. It allows the emergence of international trade dynamics free of tariffs and other
mechanisms that interfere with its "natural" dynamics.
4. It allows regional growth. It enriches regions that trade freely among themselves, as opposed to the ordinary
international market.
5. Free trade creates more opportunities to solicit experienced workers.
Disadvantages
1. It favors the powerful. Commercially more robust countries can benefit from the non-intervention of the state in the
foreign trade balance, flooding local markets since national production is unable to compete on equal terms.
2. It generates dizzying changes. Especially in workers' ways of life and work, which can result in future and
unpredictable crises.
3. It does not benefit workers. If it is not accompanied by a free movement of workers.
4. It migrates employment. Especially where more developed nations are exploiting lesser nations, industries and
trades tend to move to where conditions are more favorable and this often destroys employment.
5. May stiffen international competition for national economies.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE
https://ustr.gov/uscolombiatpa/facts