MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Obama eager to finalize trade agreements with Panama and Colombia

United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk said private meetings with Panama and Colombia presidents during the recent Summit of the Americas in Trinidad Tobago had been “very productive” and reiterated that the Obama administration is eager in finalizing free trade agreements with both countries.

“It was a very productive summit for the US, and it was something that I personally enjoyed” Kirk told reporters Monday in a conference call before attending the first meeting of the Obama Cabinet.

Both countries are most interested to finalize the free-trade deals (which remain stalled in Congress) and we are working “in good faith” to do so, said Kirk.

The former Dallas mayor accompanied President Barack Obama to the weekend summit where he met privately with Panama's president, Martin Torrijos, and Colombia's president, Álvaro Uribe, to discuss separate free-trade deals.

On Panama, Kirk said he's focused mainly on beefing up labour rules, and to a lesser degree addressing concerns in Congress about Panama's tax laws. Panama holds a presidential election next month, and Kirk said that may provide a “window to move more forcefully.”

As for Colombia, Kirk noted that Uribe puts a high priority on the deal. And, although some Republicans fear the Obama team isn't as eager to finalize the deal, Kirk indicated the administration is interested in finalizing the deal, too. Democrats and US unions cite concerns about violence targeting labour activists in Colombia.

“It was a very, very good, productive meeting,” Kirk said, “My own personal thought as a mayor and as a lawyer is that when you've got two willing partners, that's a pretty good recipe for getting a deal done.”

As a candidate, Obama assailed former President George W. Bush trade policy and pledged to rework agreements with countries including Colombia. Bush completed an accord with Colombia but wasn’t able to get congressional approval as labour chiefs and many Democrats opposed the deal because of the country’s history of violence against union organizers.

However Obama has asked Kirk to work with Colombia through “the president’s remaining concerns about violence against labour leaders in Colombia” said a White House spokesperson.

Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill such as Representative Charles Rangel of New York, head of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, say they expect lawmakers ultimately will approve the agreement with Colombia.

“There are obstacles, but I’m confident under Obama’s leadership they will be overcome” said Rangel, who also attended the summit as part of the US delegation.