Colombian Flower Industry Lobbies Washington For FTA

The Colombian flower industry has sent lobbyists to Washington to persuade U.S. congressemen to aprove a free trade agreement with Colombia and renew a number of other economic measures that would encourage trade between the two nations.

The flower industry wants Washington to pass a free trade agreement with Colombia as well as extend the Andrean Trade Preference and Drug Eradication Act (ADTPDEA) which eliminated tarrifs for a number of Colombian exports, including flowers, in an effort to persuade Colombians to find economic alternatives to drug trafficking.

Since the ADTPDEA expired in March duties on Colombian flowers rose 3.2 to 6.8%, costs that florists say have been carried by customers.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: Colombia Reports