BOGOTA -(Dow Jones)- Colombian Ambassador to the U.S. Luis Alberto Moreno said Friday it's time for a free-trade deal between Colombia and the U.S., though he acknowledged there's a long line of countries seeking a bilateral deal with the U.S.
"The moment is now for us to embark on bilateral negotiations for a trade deal with the U.S.," Moreno told an economic forum in Bogota held by the National Association of Financial Institutions, or ANIF.
The U.S., meanwhile, seeks to firm up a hemisphere-wide trade pact called the Free Trade Area of the Americas by 2005.
But Moreno said neither the FTAA nor attempts at a worldwide free trade pact are compatible for Colombia.
And while many nations are seeking free trade with the U.S., Moreno said Colombia should be put high on the list because of the close U.S. relationship with this Andean nation on political and other issues.
Colombia is one of the top recipients of U.S. aid. It has received nearly $2 billion from the U.S. government in the past three years, mostly earmarked to fight illegal drug production, processing and trafficking.
Moreno said the Andean Trade Preference Act, which gives a wide array of products from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru tariff-free access to U.S. markets is only a temporary benefit, because it expires in 2006.
Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota were not available for comment.
Colombia exported $5.3 billion worth of products to the U.S. in 2001, 43% of its total shipments.
-By Dan Molinski, Dow Jones Newswires; 571-602-1203; colombia@dowjones.com
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