FTA with US Will Ruin Colombian Economy, Union Warns http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2011/april/09/latinamerica11040901.htm

A free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States would devastate Colombian the industrial and agricultural production, the Confederation of Colombian Workers said Friday.Union attorney Fabio Arias said that type of agreement with Washington would only benefit large multinational corporations, especially those of the United States, despite conditions set for respecting workers' rights.Arias said his organization of 550,000 members would reiterate its opposition to FTA in a meeting with President Juan Manuel Santos "because it would not be good for Colombian producers." 

The Colombian president and his U.S. counterpart, Barack Obama, agreed Thursday on an action plan to revive the treaty signed by both countries in 2006, now pending the approval of U.S. Congress.Also Thursday, more than one million Colombians took to the streets to protest the U.S.-Colombia FTA and planned reforms in public higher education.Opponents say the FTA threatens food sovereignty and exacerbates the humanitarian crisis the working class is facing from the prevailing insecurity, with 25 trade unionists killed in the past six months and more than 50,000 teachers threatened.