President Obama delivers State of the Union Address

President Obama Believes in Strengthening Commercial Ties with Colombia

President Obama delivered his first State of the Union address last night, Wednesday January 27th 2010.

Although pressing domestic issues such as the slowly recovering economy, creation of much needed jobs, the divisive political climate in Washington, and health care reform dominated the speech, Obama did highlight the importance of strengthening commercial relations with key partners such as South Korea, Colombia, and Panama.

“We have to seek new markets aggressively, just as our competitors are. If America sits on the sidelines while other nations sign trade deals, we will lose the chance to create jobs on our shores. But realizing those benefits also means enforcing those agreements so our trading partners play by the rules. And that’s why we will continue to shape a Doha tradeagreement that opens global markets, and why we will strengthen our trade relations in Asia and with key partners like South Korea, Panama and Colombia.”

Excerpt from last night’s State of the Union Address

This statement took many by surprise and, in Colombia, has raised some hopes that the FTA will finally be implemented this year. However, last week’s comment by U.S. Ambassador to Bogotá, William Brownfield, suggest otherwise. Being an election year in the United States along with strong opposition from certain groups in Washington are two of the reasons mentioned that could prevent the ratification of the stalled trade agreement.

Whether or not Obama’s mention of strengthening ties with Colombia means anything concrete for the FTA is yet to be seen but President Uribe, who is currently at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, believes that the speech shows Obama’s confidence in Colombia and in turn could mean this year’s ratification of the agreement.