Obama and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said at a joint news conference that the trade deal would go into effect May 15. The US and Colombia agreed to the trade deal last year. However, implementation of the pact was contingent on Colombia enacting reforms to protect unions.
Obama says it will support “thousands of US jobs” and give Colombia a market for exports. He says it will be a win for workers and the environment because there are “strong protections.” Obama says those “commitments that we are going to fulfill.”
Business leaders support the agreement but labor leaders say Colombia still has a poor record of violence against labor union members. The AFL-CIO says it is deeply disappointed by the administration‘s move.
Obama could also face his first questions Sunday about embarrassing allegations of Secret Service personnel cavorting with prostitutes in Cartagena ahead of the president’s arrival. The scandal has cast a cloud over the delegation at the summit, forcing the White House to assert that Obama still has confidence in the agency that protects his life and the Secret Service to offer its regrets for distracting from the summit.
Meanwhile, some of Obama‘s peers from Central and South America pushed talks on drug legalization, which they believe could help tamp down rampant cartel violence in the region. Decriminalization would be politically unpalatable in the US, and Obama has made his opposition known.
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