Colombia is in various stages of negotiation on Free Trade Agreements with several countries, including the United States. Colombia's FTA with Switzerland will enter into force on 1 July 2011 and Colombia also expects to enter into an FTA with Canada by 1 July 2011. There is a pending FTA with the European Union; Colombia and the EU signed the final texts on 25 March 2011 and now must wait for the final process of translation and official approval of the agreement.
The US-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA), sometimes call the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, was signed on 22 November 2006; Colombia's Congress approved the agreement and a protocol of amendment in 2007. In July 2008, Colombia's Constitutional Court completed its review and concluded that the Agreement conforms to Colombia's Constitution. The agreement immediately eliminates Colombia's use of Andean Price Bands (variable tariffs), thereby ensuring that Colombia stops applying high duties resulting from the application of this mechanism. The price band system affects more than 150 products, including poultry. Under the current price band system, the tariffs on these products vary with world prices and may reach up to Colombia’s WTO bound rates.
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